The Kenabi communities of Sudan have endured decades of marginalisation, a struggle that has intensified since war broke out in April 2023.
The Kenabi settlements emerged in the late 19th century after families from Kordofan and Darfur moved to the Gezira farmlands.
Another wave of migration followed during the famine known as “Year Six.”
Their suffering escalated on January 10, 2025, when Sudan Shield Forces, allied with the army, and the extremist Al-Bara Ibn Malik Battalions attacked Kombo Taybah village in Gezira State.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 26 people, including a child, were killed, homes were burned, and food supplies looted.
The rights group described the assault as a war crime and possibly a crime against humanity.
“They came to the house where we were and asked where all our husbands were,” one woman told investigators.
“They began threatening everyone, saying they would harm us and our husbands.”
The Sudanese Rights Coalition later reported widespread abuses, including executions, forced displacement, and looting.
The group said Kenabi communities were disproportionately targeted after the army and its allies seized Gezira State.
For decades, Kenabi residents have faced systemic exclusion. They were denied citizenship under discriminatory laws dating back to 1948, leaving many without identity cards or birth certificates.
They were also left out of state development projects, with limited access to education, healthcare, and infrastructure despite their role in farming Sudan’s fertile lands.
Activist Shawgi Badri argued that neglect was not limited to the Kenabi but affected all Sudanese under decades of authoritarian rule.
He described the period as one where outsiders, empowered by political elites, monopolised education and opportunities while ordinary citizens struggled.
Amid the crisis, the Founding Sudan Coalition has pledged to address marginalization and restore dignity to the people.
Its new “Tasis” Government, created under Sudan’s 2025 Interim Constitution, has vowed to place governance in the hands of citizens rather than the military.
Presidential Council Chair Mohamed Hamdan alias Hemedti and his deputy Abdel Aziz Adam Al-Hilu appeared publicly to emphasise their commitment.
“The council’s first meeting charted a strategic roadmap for the work of the ‘Tasis’ Government in the coming phase,” Al-Hilu said.
