More than 120 killed in paramilitary rampage in east-central Sudan, UN and a doctors group say

CAIRO -- Fighters from nan notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ran riot successful east-central Sudan successful a multi-day onslaught that killed much than 120 group successful 1 town, a doctors group and nan United Nations said.

It was nan group's latest attack against nan Sudanese subject aft suffering a bid of setbacks, losing crushed to nan subject successful nan area. The war, which has been going connected for much than a twelvemonth and a half, has wrecked nan African country, displacing millions of its organization and pushing it to nan brink of a full-blown famine.

RSF fighters went connected a rampage successful villages and towns connected nan eastbound and bluish sides of nan state of Gezira betwixt Oct. 20-25, shooting astatine civilians and sexually attacking women and girls, nan United Nations said successful a connection Saturday, adding that they looted backstage and nationalist properties, including unfastened markets.

“These are atrocious crimes,” Clementine Nkweta-Salami, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator successful Sudan, said successful a connection connected Saturday. “Women, children, and nan astir susceptible are base nan brunt of a conflict that has already taken acold excessively galore lives.”

She said nan attacks resembled nan horrors committed during nan Darfur genocide successful nan early 2000s, including rape, intersexual violence, and wide killings.

The Sudanese Doctors’ Union said successful a connection that astatine slightest 124 group were killed and 200 others were wounded successful nan municipality of Sariha, adding that nan group rounded up astatine slightest 150 others. It called connected nan U.N. Security Council to unit nan RSF to unfastened “safe corridors” to alteration assistance groups to scope group successful impacted villages.

“There is nary measurement to thief nan injured aliases evacuate them for treatment,” nan connection said.

Footage circulating online, immoderate shared by RSF fighters themselves, showed members of nan paramilitary group abusing detained people. One video showed a man wearing a subject azygous grabbing an aged man by nan chin and dragging him astir arsenic different equipped men chanted successful nan background.

The RSF didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The Coordination of Civilian Democratic Forces, an confederation of pro-democracy parties and groups, besides accused nan RSF of storming villages, and opening occurrence connected civilians arsenic good arsenic rounding up and mistreating “a ample number of residents.”

In a statement, nan confederation held nan RSF “responsible for these monolithic violations,” and called for holding nan preparators accountable.

The onslaught connected Gezira came arsenic nan subject had successfully taken backmost areas held by nan RSF.

In September, nan subject launched a monolithic cognition successful and astir nan superior metropolis of Khartoum, reclaiming ample swaths of areas from nan RSF. Also, earlier this month, it seized power of Jebel Moya, a strategical mountainous area successful Gezira province, arsenic good arsenic areas successful Gezira and adjacent Sinnar province, driving retired RSF forces.

In October, a apical RSF commander, Abu Aqlah Keikel, nan de facto ruler of Gezira, defected and surrendered himself to nan military.

That prompted RSF fighters to onslaught villages and towns successful Gezira seen arsenic loyal to Keikel, according to section reports.

The warfare successful Sudan began successful April 2023 erstwhile simmering tensions betwixt nan subject and nan RSF exploded into unfastened fighting successful Khartoum, earlier spreading crossed nan country.

The warfare has been marked by atrocities specified arsenic wide rape and ethnically motivated killings. The U.N. and world authorities groups opportunity these acts magnitude to warfare crimes and crimes against humanity, peculiarly successful nan occidental region of Darfur, which has been facing a bitter onslaught by nan RSF.

The conflict has killed much than 24,000 group truthful far, according to nan Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a group monitoring nan conflict since it started.