- Brutal attack by the RSF leaves at least 100 civilians dead
- This attack is part of a series of assaults by RSF troops on rural villages
- A blackout in telecommunications has hindered immediate verification of the casualty
Local activists report that the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a deadly attack on a village in Gezira State, resulting in the deaths of at least 100 individuals.
If confirmed, this assault would mark the latest in a series of attacks perpetrated by RSF troops on rural villages throughout the agricultural state, following their seizure of the capital, Wad Madani, in December.
A blackout in telecommunications has hindered immediate verification of the casualty count by Reuters, preventing contact with medical personnel or residents.
According to the pro-democracy Wad Madani Resistance Committee, the village of Wad Alnoura witnessed what they described as a genocide, with RSF forces allegedly conducting two attacks resulting in the deaths of up to 100 people.
The committee later revised the death toll to possibly hundreds and claimed that requests for assistance from the Sudanese army had been ignored.
The conflict between the RSF and the army, which erupted in April 2023 over disputes regarding their integration, has escalated with the RSF gaining control over Khartoum and much of western Sudan. Now, the RSF aims to advance further into the heart of the country, even as United Nations agencies warn of an impending famine.
In response to allegations of civilian casualties, the RSF stated that it had targeted army and allied militia installations around Wad Alnoura but did not acknowledge any civilian deaths.
However, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee accused them of employing heavy weaponry against civilians, engaging in looting, and displacing women and children who sought refuge in the nearby town of Managil.
The committee shared images of numerous bodies prepared for burial in an open square amidst large gatherings of men, alleging that pleas for assistance from the army had gone unanswered.
The Transitional Sovereign Council, aligned with the army, denounced the attack, labeling it as criminal and reflective of the systematic targeting of civilians by these militias.
