The new wave of mass killings in Sudan alarms the UN

2024-10-27 16:29:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A senior UN official in Sudan says it is deeply concerned by reports of "brutal crimes" in the central state of Gezira, including the mass killing of civilians by the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF).

Clementine Nkweta-Salami's comments came after an activist group said at least 124 people were killed by the RSF in attacks on villagers over the past week.

The RSF has denied targeting civilians, saying its fighters are fighting militias armed by the army.

The 18-month conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million.

Gezira state turned into a major battleground last week after the RSF suffered a major blow when one of its commanders, Abu Aqla Kayka, defected to the army.

The army said he had brought "a large number of his forces" with him, in what it described as the first high-profile defection to its side.

In response, the RSF said its fighters would defend themselves and "deal decisively with anyone carrying a weapon".

Ms Nkweta-Salami, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, said preliminary reports suggested that the RSF had carried out a major attack across the country between October 20 and 25.

She added that this led to mass killings, rape of women and girls, widespread looting of markets and homes, and burning of farms.

Ms Nkweta-Salami said the "brutal crimes" were on a scale similar to those seen in Sudan's Darfur region last year, when the RSF was accused of "ethnic cleansing" of communities seen as opposed to it.

Ms Nkweta-Salami said the death toll was still unclear, but preliminary reports suggested dozens of people were killed in Gezira state.

In a statement on Saturday, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, which campaigns for an end to the conflict and democratic rule in Sudan, said the RSF was carrying out "widespread massacres in village after village", Reuters news agency reported. .

The Sudanese doctors' union called on the UN to push the two sides in the conflict to agree on safe humanitarian corridors in villages facing "genocide" at the hands of the RSF.

The doctors' union added that rescue operations had become impossible and that the army was "incapable" of protecting civilians.

The conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023 after a clash between the commanders of the RSF and the army, namely General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The two had jointly staged a coup in 2021, disrupting Sudan's transition to democracy, but then engaged in a vicious power struggle.

The two leaders have refused to sign a peace agreement, despite efforts by the US and Saudi Arabia to mediate an end to the conflict./ CNA