Killing of Women Human Rights Defender Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa in Darfur
On 26 October 2023, women human rights defender Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa was shot and killed at a funeral in Nyala, South Darfur.
Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa was a 26 years old woman human rights defender and member of Women Revolutionary group, as well as a member of Darfur Collation of Women Human Rights Defenders (TMD). Established in 2018, the Women Revolutionary group is an organization advocating for women’s rights, gender equality, and social justice. The group also support victims of rape and sexual violence in Darfur. The woman human rights defender was an economist graduated in 2020 at the Khartoum University.
On 26 October 2023, women human rights defender Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa was shot and killed at a funeral in Nyala, South Darfur.
Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa was a 26 year old woman human rights defender and member of Women Revolutionary group, as well as a member of Darfur Collation of Women Human Rights Defenders (TMD). Established in 2018, the Women Revolutionary group is an organization advocating for women’s rights, gender equality, and social justice. The group also support victims of rape and sexual violence in Darfur. The woman human rights defender was an economist who graduated in 2020 at the Khartoum University .
On 26 October 2023, an unidentified gunmen fatally shot Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa while she was attending a relative’s funeral in Kalma IDPs camp in Nyala. In May 2023, the woman human rights defender had reported to Front Line Defenders that she has been receiving death threats due to her legitimate human rights work. Despite the threats to her physical security, Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa refused to relocate from Nyala since she was taking care of her mother, who has a disability.
Since the outbreak of the armed conflict that broke out in Khartoum, Sudan, on 15 April 2023 and the spread of militant groups in Darfur, human rights defenders have been victims of targeted threats and killings for their peaceful human rights work. Over the past four months, Front Line Defenders has reported the killing of seven human rights defenders: Abd Elrazeg Adam Mohammed, Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik, El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun, Mohammed Ahmed Kudia, Khamis Arabab and Khidir Sulieman Abdelmageed in El Geneina, West Darfur, as well as human rights defender and lawyer Ahmed Mohamed Abdella (Lord) who was killed in Nyala, South Darfur. Human rights defenders in Darfur are exposed to serious risks escalated by the war and targeted by warring parties because of their legitimate human rights work.
Front Line Defenders condemns the killing of women human rights defender Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa as we believe she was killed as a result of her peaceful human rights work in Darfur. Front Line Defenders is concerned about the escalation of violence in South Darfur region, and the dangerous context in which human rights defenders and civilians find themselves.
Front Line Defenders urges the de facto authorities in Sudan to:
- Immediately carry out an impartial and independent investigation into the killing of human rights defender Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa;
- Fully implement the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan;
- Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Sudan are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
