At Least 124 People Died After RSF Sudan Attacked Village

JAKARTA - Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan's paramilitary, killed at least 124 people in an El Gezira State village on Friday, October 25, 2024.

According to a Reuters report from activists, the latest incidents claimed the most lives in the war over 18 months and the largest in the state.

After high-ranking RSF officer Abuagla Keikal surrendered to Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) last week, pro-democracy activists said RSF had carried out a revenge attack in the agricultural state.

The revenge attack killed and detained civilians and displaced thousands of people.

Gezira has been facing tantrums for months where residents told Reuters that RSF looted houses, killed many civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Al-Sireha village, in the northern part of the state, experienced its worst recent violence when at least 124 people were killed and 100 injured in the RSF attack according to the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, a pro-democracy group, on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

In a statement on Friday, October 25, 2024, the RSF accused SAF soldiers of arming civilians in Gezira and using troops under Keikal's command, prompting the attack.

Meanwhile, RSF has controlled much of Sudan's territory in conflict with the SAF army. According to the United Nations, it has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

The war has displaced more than 11 million people, causing some areas of the country to experience extreme hunger or famine, and attracting foreign powers that have provided material support to both sides.

The war began in April 2023 when tensions between the RSF and the SAF army, which previously shared power, erupted into open conflict at a time when Sudan was supposed to switch to civilian rule after the 2021 coup.

"Milisi RSF menyerang Gezira timur, barat, dan tengah, dan melakukan pemerahan besar-besaran di satu desa ke satu desa," kata komite tersebut.

Images on social media shared by the committee and others are said to show dozens of bodies wrapped for burial and mass graves being excavated.

"The people of Gezira face genocide by the RSF and it is impossible to treat the injured or even evacuate them for treatment."

"Those who left on foot had died or faced death," said the Sudanese Doctors Association.

A video circulating on social media is said to show an RSF soldier who said he was in Sireha. In the video RSF troops are seen pointing a gun at a row of men of all ages, using racial nicknames, and forcing them to talk like goats.

Sudanese Women's Eradication Unit, a government agency, said in a statement that it had received reports of RSF soldiers raping women in Gezira village.

The heinous incident was a tactic to embarrass men and expel people from the area.

The Keikal defection occurred when SAF soldiers launched another attack to retake territory across the country.

The general of SAF soldiers, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, uploaded on X on Friday, October 25, 2024, evening local time that when more and more civilian blood is shed, the determination of the Sudanese people to fight the RSF is getting stronger.

However, his comments were met with a wave of criticism that SAF soldiers did not protect civilians in Gezira or elsewhere.

Meanwhile, RSF is accused by the United States and other countries of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing, particularly in West Darfur.

The SAF military was also accused of war crimes after launching a massive airstrike that often resulted in high numbers of civilian casualties, but did little to help RSF to step down.

"We are monitoring the latest RSF attack that shocked civilians in Gezira. The killings and sexual violence are despicable," said US Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, in X.