Sudan: RSF accused of massacre in Gezira state

RSF attacks attacks in the north and east of Gezira state, Sudan have been labelled a ‘massacre’ by local group Gezira Conference, according to Africa News and agencies.

It said RSF forces stormed a town in the Al-Kamelin locality on October 25th and began indiscriminately firing from high-rise buildings, killing at least 50 people and injuring hundreds. Meanwhile in Tamboul, RSF fighters killed dozens of civilians on a rampage.

Local groups say rage appears to be the motivation for the attacks following the defection of de-facto Gezira province leader Abu Aqlah Keikel from the RSF to the Sudanese miliary.

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The Doctors’ Union in Sudan has said eastern Gezira had been turned into a “brutal war zone” by the RSF attacks. It accused the fighters of sexual crimes, attacks on health facilities and forced displacement.

Ted Chaiban, deputy head of UNICEF, called for more international attention to the “forgotten crisis” in Sudan, following a year of war that ahs pushed the country close to famine.

He said the war created “one of the most acute crises in living memory,” with more than 14 million displaced. “We’ve never in a generation seen these types of numbers,” he told AP, referring to the displacement, as well as the 8.5 million people facing emergency levels of food insecurity, and 775,000 others facing famine-like conditions.

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“The whole country has been dislocated,” he said. “And yet, despite that, the country and the crisis is forgotten.”

The war began back in April 2023, where, following months of tension between Sudan’s military and the RSF, violence broke out, as reported by Al Jazeera at the time.

Africa News and agencies, Al Jazeera