SPLM-N: SAF committed Genocide in Salha by deliberately poisoning drinking water

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of committing what it described as a “genocide” in the area of Salha, southwest of Omdurman, claiming the lives of more than (5,000) civilians in the process, most of whom were children, due to what it described as the “deliberate poisoning” of drinking water.

In a statement to (Edraak) electronic newspaper, the leader in (SPLM-N), Jatego Umwaja Dalman, revealed that members of Al-Baraa Brigade, along with two officers from the Engineering Corps, poisoned the main water pipeline extending from Omdurman Islamic University to the Salha area a week before the Sudanese Army entered the area, leading to mass deaths amongst the population.

Dalman indicated that the Military Intelligence instructed the Ministry of Health to declare a cholera outbreak in an effort to conceal the heinous crime. He stressed that the (SPLM-N) strongly condemns such actions, which he described as a “full-fledged genocide.”

For his part, lawyer Mohammed Abdel Moneim Al-Selimi explained that this incident amounts to a war crime and a crime against humanity, according to the definitions of the International Law. In addition, he pointed out that the (1948) Genocide Convention stipulates that the total or partial destruction of a racial or ethnic group constitutes genocide.

These accusations come at a time when Sudan has been witnessing an ongoing war since (April 2023), amidst increasing reports of grave violations committed against innocent civilians in conflict zones.