In brief
The UN has expressed grave concerns over a recent escalation of violence in Sudan’s Gezira state, where paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of committing atrocious crimes against civilians, including mass killings and sexual violence, following significant military defections.
A senior UN official has raised alarm over a fresh wave of mass killings in Sudan's Gezira state, where the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is reportedly responsible for numerous atrocities. Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN's Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, voiced her concerns following claims from an activist group reporting at least 124 civilian deaths attributed to RSF attacks on several villages last week.Denying the allegations of targeting civilians, the RSF stated their combat was against militias reportedly supported by the Sudanese military. The ongoing conflict in Sudan, now spanning 18 months, has already led to the deaths of tens of thousands and displaced over 11 million individuals. Last week saw an intensification of hostilities in Gezira state after one of the RSF's prominent commanders, Abu Aqla Kayka, defected to the military along with a substantial number of his troops. Following this defection, the RSF vowed to protect its forces vigorously and declared their intent to confront any armed opposition decisively.Nkweta-Salami mentioned that preliminary assessments indicated that the RSF launched significant offensives across Gezira state between October 20 and 25, resulting in mass killings, sexual assaults, widespread looting, and the arson of agricultural lands. The reported crimes have drawn parallels to the atrocities committed in Darfur the previous year, where the RSF faced accusations of ethnic cleansing.According to the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, the RSF's activities amount to "extensive massacres," exacerbating the region's humanitarian disaster. The Sudanese doctors' union has urged the UN to facilitate the establishment of safe humanitarian passageways into affected villages, which they claim are facing genocide-like conditions from RSF actions. The roots of the conflict can be traced back to April 2023, stemming from a power struggle between RSF's Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and military leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Despite international mediation efforts by the US and Saudi Arabia, both leaders have refused to commit to a peace agreement.
