Sudan's RSF kills at least 100 in attack on village, activists say
Smoke rises in Omdurman, near Halfaya Bridge, during clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as seen from Khartoum North, Sudan on April 15, 2023. PHOTO | REUTERS
The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked a village in Gezira State on Wednesday, killing at least 100 people, according to local activists.
If confirmed, the attack would be the latest in a string of dozens of attacks by RSF soldiers on small villages across the farming state after it took control of the capital Wad Madani in December.
A telecommunications blackout prevented Reuters immediately reaching medics or residents to verify the death toll.
"Wad Alnoura village ... witnessed a genocide on Wednesday after the RSF attacked twice, killing up to 100 people," the pro-democracy Wad Madani Resistance Committee said in a statement on social media late on Wednesday.
Later it put the number of dead in the hundreds and said the Sudanese army had not heeded a request for help.
The RSF began fighting the army in April 2023 after disputes over the integration of the two forces and has since taken over the capital Khartoum and most of western Sudan.
It is now seeking to advance into the centre, as United Nations agencies say the people of Sudan are at "imminent risk of famine".
In a statement on Wednesday, the RSF said it had attacked army and allied militia bases around Wad Alnoura but did not acknowledge any civilian casualties.
But the Wad Madani Resistance Committee accused it of using heavy artillery against civilians, looting, and driving women and children to seek refuge in the nearby town of Managil.
It shared photos of dozens of bodies wrapped for burial in an open square among large crowds of men.
"The people of Wad Alnoura called on the army to rescue them, but they shamefully did not respond," the committee said.
The army-aligned Transitional Sovereign Council condemned the attack.
"These are criminal acts that reflect the systematic behaviour of these militias in targeting civilians," it said in a statement.
