GEDAREF: At least 50 people have been killed in a single attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who have besieged and raided villages in al-Jazira state, according to activists.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in conflict with Sudan’s regular army since April 2023, but have recently intensified their assaults on civilians in al-Jazira, south of the capital Khartoum, following a defection of their commander in the state to the army.
“The villages of al-Sariha and Azraq have been under attack since Friday morning,” the resistance committee in Hasaheisa—a group coordinating aid in Sudan—stated in a message to AFP late Friday. In al-Sariha alone, the attack resulted in 50 deaths and over 200 injuries, with reports indicating that evacuation of the wounded was impossible due to ongoing shelling and snipers from the RSF.
A near-total communications blackout in the region has made it difficult to verify casualty figures. The resistance committee reported that the nearby village of Azraq is also under “total siege,” suffering similar violations, although no death toll could be confirmed there.
On Friday, the Sudanese doctors’ union called on the United Nations to advocate for safe humanitarian corridors into villages facing “genocide at the hands of the Rapid Support militia.” The union added that rescue operations have become unfeasible, and the army is unable to protect civilians. Medical sources from several villages reported that nearly all health facilities capable of treating emergency cases have been shut down.
The war in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, with estimates suggesting as many as 150,000 fatalities. It has also led to what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over seven million people uprooted.
In June, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield referred to the situation in Sudan as the planet’s “largest humanitarian crisis.” In July, famine was declared in the Zamzam camp for displaced individuals near El-Fasher in western Darfur, bordering Chad.
Regional Impact
Last Sunday, the army announced that the RSF’s al-Jazira commander, Abu Aqla Kaykal, had defected, bringing “a large number of his forces” with him, marking the first high-profile defection to the army’s side. Activists reported at least 20 deaths in subsequent paramilitary attacks in eastern al-Jazira and noted that an airstrike by the Sudanese Armed Forces on a mosque in the state capital, Wad Madani, killed 31 people.
On Thursday, neighboring Chad denied accusations of supplying arms to the paramilitaries after Sudan’s Darfur region governor, Minni Minnawi, made such claims. Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah stated, “Chad has no interest in amplifying the war in Sudan,” highlighting that Chad has faced significant repercussions from the conflict.
Sudanese authorities have previously accused Chad of facilitating weapon deliveries from the United Arab Emirates, which both Chad and the UAE have denied.
The International Monetary Fund’s director for Africa, Catherine Pattillo, warned that the ongoing war in Sudan is likely to inflict severe economic damage on its already struggling neighbors, stating, “Confronted with refugees, security issues, and trade challenges, this is very difficult for their growth.”
