At least 150 people are feared dead in a massacre in a village in central Sudan, with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) being blamed for the attack. The RSF, a paramilitary group fighting the army for control of the country, has not commented on the accusations but has boasted of attacking two army positions.
Footage circulating on social media after Wednesday’s raid showed dozens of bodies wrapped in white shrouds prepared for burial in Wad al-Nourah in Gezira state. The Madani Resistance Committee, part of a network of local groups supporting a return to civilian rule, is now waiting for a confirmed toll of the dead and injured.
The circumstances of the killings remain unclear, with allegations that the village was attacked twice by RSF fighters on Wednesday. Hafiz Mohamad from Justice Africa Sudan has stated that many more people are still missing, but it is difficult to count all the dead as RSF elements are still in the area looting.
Sudan’s military government has called for international condemnation of the Wad al-Nourah attack. The RSF, accused of numerous abuses against civilians in Gezira state, denies the allegations. Intense battles continue between the RSF and the military in El Fasher, a city in Darfur in the west of the country.
Since the conflict began in April 2023, more than 15,000 people are estimated to have been killed, with millions facing a hunger catastrophe. Several rounds of peace talks have failed to end the war, which started when the two generals leading the army and RSF fell out.
UN agencies warn that up to five million people are at risk of famine, making it the world’s largest displacement crisis. Martin Griffiths, the UN’s under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, called the conflict “avoidable” and blamed it on two men deciding to resolve their differences through fighting, leading their country into chaos.
