Over 200 killed in Rapid Support Forces attacks in Sudan

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed more than 200 unarmed civilians over three days in Sudan’s White Nile state, the BBC reported on February 18th.

The Emergency Lawyers network said the attacks took place in al-Kadaris and al-Khelwat, areas with no military presence.

The network accused RSF fighters of carrying out “executions, kidnappings, enforced disappearances and property looting.” The RSF has not commented on the accusations.

Fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese military erupted in April 2023. The two factions, once allies, fell out over a plan to transition to civilian rule. The conflict has forced around 12 million people from their homes and killed tens of thousands of civilians. Both sides face accusations of committing atrocities.

The RSF has suffered a recent loss after the military regained parts of Khartoum, including its military HQ. The army has also secured almost full control over Gezira state. In response, RSF leaders are meeting allied groups in Nairobi to finalise what they call a “political charter for the Government of Peace and Unity.”

Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has rejected the RSF’s efforts and vowed to reclaim the capital. He currently operates from Port Sudan, having fled Khartoum after the RSF seized the presidential palace and military headquarters.

The war has left many in desperate need of humanitarian aid, with international organisations warning of worsening conditions.

African Union officials on February 11th said that Sudan’s civil war is the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world”, The New Arab and agencies reported.

The chairman of an AU panel on Sudan, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, said on X: “Children and women are continually abused, and the elderly and sick lack medical assistance…[the war has] hampered access to humanitarian relief, led to shortage of food and aggravated hunger.”

In a report published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), officials said “Sudan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises due to the scale of escalating needs, the number of people displaced, the rising malnutrition rates and food insecurity.”

BBC, The New Arab and agencies, OCHA