1.2.2. Law enforcement

The UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan expressed concerns in October 2024 regarding the collapse of the rule of law in the country, including the disruption of police functions.78 In June 2025, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) noted that the absence of law enforcement agencies had created a ‘security vacuum’. 79 Few months later, the Minister of Justice stated that police stations in Khartoum state were operating ‘effectively and efficiently’ and had the resources needed to enforce the law. On the same occasion, the Ministry of Justice announced plans to review legislation governing police operations, including provisions granting immunity to officers ‘performing their duties.’ 80 In September of the same year, the authorities set up a new security unit in Khartoum to face gangs specialised in phone and handbag snatching such as the ‘Nine Tall’ gangs.81 Security experts cited by Ayin network noted that the ‘fragile’ policing capacity in Khartoum, combined with limited court operations, has constrained the effectiveness of the newly established unit. Furthermore, despite the expansion of the civil registry offices by the Ministry of Interior, insufficient attention had been given to neighborhood policing, leaving the capital ‘vulnerable to further lawlessness’.82