Khartoum: The resistance committees in the city of Rifaa said that the Rapid Support Forces chased a public transport bus and fired on passengers, killing one woman and wounding others. The city of Rifaa, among a number of cities and villages in Gezira state in central Sudan, has been experiencing widespread unrest since the Rapid Support Forces took over the state last December.
Widespread violations
The Resistance Committees accuse the RSF of committing widespread violations against civilians in the villages and cities of the island and of killing dozens of residents during raids carried out with the aim of looting civilian property and public headquarters.
It said it controls the state’s few Starlink devices while communication and internet networks continue to be cut off, making it the primary controller of money transfers through banking and liquidity apps, deducting large sums of money.
Extensive levies were also imposed on bus owners and passengers fleeing the hell of the battles on the island to other states.
Travelers face a number of outposts for these forces, where they are asked to pay more, and threatened to shoot, or carry out those threats.
The Resistance Committees said in a statement on Thursday that “the Rapid Support Forces continue to commit the most heinous types of violations against civilians in the state of Al-Jazeera,” noting that they chased a travel bus heading from the city of Rifaa to the city of Gedaref and fired a barrage of bullets at the passengers, killing the citizen Amani Ibrahim, who was trying to reach a safe haven, in addition to injuring two other people.
The committees monitored a wave of violations and new attacks committed by the support forces in the state of Gezira during the past two weeks, pointing to the invasion of the village of “um Duwaina” rural Muslimia on May 14, accusing the force that carried out the attack of killing 3 civilians, injuring a number of residents of the village, as well as looting the property of the people.
The residents vowed to return again, which sparked panic and mass displacement of citizens.
The village of Salim has been under siege for three weeks, and the resistance committees accuse the support forces of cutting off the health and food supply to the village.
The “Rapid Support” attacks also affected the village of “Al-Nazer”, east of the city of “Wad Madani”, the capital of the state of Al-Jazeera, where members of the Support Forces beat and abused the people, before looting the entire village and forcing the people to displace. The incident was repeated in the nearby village of “Al-Shadaida Wad Ajbna”, where it beat and humiliated women and children and forced citizens to leave the village.
A child was the victim of random shooting carried out by the forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo «Hemedti» in the village of (Al-Malqa) rural Abu Qouta.
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These forces stormed the Muslim village of Shazli, where they looted and stole agricultural crops and foodstuffs from groceries and internal markets.
The attacks by the Support Forces also affected the village of Hafira, southeast of Wad Madani, resulting in two injuries among the villagers.
The resistance committees said that they are facing great difficulties in field communication with sources, as a result of the interruption and fluctuation of internet and communication services, noting that they are still trying to monitor violations by the Rapid Support Forces.
At the same time, the Sudanese government said that the commercial interests of some EU countries with the “sponsors of the “rapid support” restrain it from condemning it or pressuring it to stop igniting war in Sudan.
It rejected a statement issued by the European Union condemning the continued fighting in El Fasher, noting that the EU countries were unable to explicitly refer to those attacking the city.
Fears of the repercussions of the week-long battles around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, are mounting, and a prospect of a battle has emerged that could lead the conflict in the unknown Sudan.
Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minawi warned of large-scale recruitment that he said the RSF was carrying out to mobilize mercenaries from West Africa.
truce
He said that the leaders of the Rapid Support were luring mercenaries to loot and invade the city of El Fasher, calling for a general alert in the city in order to “defend lives and property.”
This comes in conjunction with a truce proposal put forward by the head of the Revolutionary Front Hadi Idris, which stipulated the commitment of the warring parties to a three-day ceasefire and the opening of safe corridors that allow the exit of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in El Fasher.
The EU has threatened to use its tools to the full, including targeted sanctions, to stop the culture of impunity in the country and move towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic condemned the attacks in El Fasher in a joint statement on Tuesday.
He denounced the intensification of fighting in and within the outskirts of El Fasher, which exacerbated an already catastrophic humanitarian situation and tragically affected civilians, deploring indiscriminate attacks by both sides.
The Sudanese government announced its rejection of the European Union’s statement on the situation in the city of El Fasher, denouncing the accusation of the Sudanese Armed Forces of indiscriminate shelling and equating them with the “Secret Support Forces”.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Babiker Siddiq said that the European Union was unable to name those who attack the city of El Fasher, target civilians and camps for displaced people, and prevent relief from reaching the Rapid Support Forces.
He added: “The support forces themselves announced their plans to attack the city and prevent humanitarian access to it, and they have already done so, without meeting this with the condemnation it deserves from the European Union.”
“Instead of demanding that the aggressor cease its aggression, the European Union engages the armed forces that defend the city and its people in condemnation,” he said in press statements on Thursday.
He accused the European Union of ignoring the “regional sponsors” of the Rapid Support Forces, noting that the supply of these sponsors with “weapons and mercenaries” is still continuing, which enables them to continue their “attacks on safe areas.”
He said that the commercial interests of some EU countries with the “sponsors of support” restrain him from condemning them or pressuring them to stop igniting war in Sudan.
He considered calls to open all crossings for the entry of humanitarian aid a word of right that I want to be invalid, stressing that all crossings that have been agreed upon with the United Nations are open and available,
He added: “The EU statement refers to the crossing used by the support forces to supply weapons, equipment and supplies of their personnel.
He stressed that the European Union does not stand with the right moral position that enables it to contribute to stopping the war, and to preach to others about humanitarian values and international humanitarian law.
Source: This article was published in Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper – translated by Al-Yurae
