Khartoum (AFP) – The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan expressed on Sunday her “shock” at the “atrocious crimes” committed in Gezira State, where activists reported at least 50 people killed in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces.
The resistance committees, a group of pro-democracy activists, reported that the Rapid Support Forces surrounded and attacked two villages in the agricultural state of Gezira south of Khartoum, indicating that fifty people were killed and more than 200 wounded in one of the villages. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Clementine Nkweta-Salami expressed in a statement her “deep concern” about reports of escalating armed violence in Gezira State that has claimed “the lives of dozens of civilians.”Salami said, “I am shocked and appalled by the recurrence of human rights violations of the kind we witnessed in Darfur last year, such as rape, targeted attacks, sexual violence, and mass killings, in Gezira State. These are atrocious crimes.”She added, “Women, children, and the most vulnerable groups bear the brunt of a conflict that has already claimed many lives.
“Fighting erupted in Sudan in mid-April 2023 between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the chairman of the Sovereignty Council and the de facto ruler of the country, and the Rapid Support Forces led by his former ally and deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti.”The war has left tens of thousands dead, displaced more than ten million Sudanese, and caused, according to the United Nations, one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history.The Rapid Support Forces have recently escalated their attacks on civilians in Gezira State after one of their leaders defected and joined the army.The coordinator of the resistance committees in Hasahisa confirmed to AFP on Saturday, “The villages of Al-Sareiha and Azraq (in Gezira State) have been under attack by the Rapid Support Forces militia since the morning,” indicating that fifty people were killed and more than 200 wounded in Al-Sareiha, with “the inability to evacuate the injured from the village” due to shelling and sniping.Eyewitnesses spoke of a larger toll, but it is currently impossible to verify the actual toll due to the almost complete communication blackout.Clementine Nkweta-Salami reminded that “attacking civilians, civilian targets, and public infrastructure is prohibited under international humanitarian law. It is unacceptable and must stop immediately. Civilians must be protected wherever they are.”For his part, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed concern over the “horrific images” coming from Gezira State.Borrell wrote on X platform, “The horrific images coming from Gezira in Sudan are alarming: reports indicate that the Rapid Support Forces have committed more mass killings and rapes.”He continued, “The massacres against civilians must stop and the perpetrators must be held accountable. The EU will continue to work until justice is achieved.”
