Sudan's Rapid Support Forces kill 18 civilians, say activists

KHARTOUM, Sudan

At least 18 civilians were killed in attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on villages in Al Jazirah State, doctors and activists said Monday.

The attacks come amid accusations against the RSF of “violations and mass killings” targeting civilians in Al Jazirah, though the RSF has not responded to the claims.

Clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army resumed in Al Jazirah on Oct. 20 after RSF leader Abu Aqla Kikil, a native of the area, defected and declared his allegiance to the army.

By December 2023, Kikil’s RSF faction had taken control of several cities in Al Jazirah, including Wad Madani, the state’s capital.

The RSF currently controls large swaths of Al Jazirah, excluding Al Manaqil and its surrounding areas, which stretch southward to the border of Sennar State and westward to the border of White Nile State.

The Sudanese Doctors Network, a non-governmental organization, said Monday that an RSF attack on a village in eastern Al Jazirah over the weekend left 13 people dead and several injured.

“We condemn the ongoing killing of unarmed civilians in eastern Al Jazirah villages alongside looting, forced displacement and blockades imposed by the RSF,” it said in a statement.

It also highlighted that RSF attacks have forced “tens of thousands to flee to neighboring states, creating a humanitarian disaster and unprecedented displacement.”

Separately, the Nidaa Al-Wasat news platform said RSF forces attacked Umm al-Qura in eastern Al Jazirah on Monday, killing five civilians and injuring several others.

Sudanese authorities and the RSF have not commented on the reports.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and displaced nearly 10 million people, according to the UN.

There have been growing calls from the UN and international bodies to end the conflict, as the war has pushed millions of Sudanese to the brink of famine and death due to food shortages, with the fighting spreading to 13 of Sudan's 18 states.