Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have launched attacks on villages in Sudan’s El Gezira state, killing at least 25 people following the defection of high-ranking RSF officer Abuagla Keikal, activists report.
Keikal, who is from the area, had previously kept RSF incursions at bay, shielding civilians from widespread violence. However, after his defection on Sunday, large numbers of RSF soldiers entered the region in what activists describe as a revenge attack, causing displacement, looting, and killings.
Activists from the Rufaa Resistance Committee, a pro-democracy group, reported that since Sunday, at least 25 people have been killed in Rufaa, the area’s largest town, and in seven surrounding villages. Most residents of Rufaa have fled, and homes have been looted, with several reports of rape. Eyewitnesses in Hilalia also reported seeing RSF soldiers looting markets and medical clinics, though details remain scarce due to a network blackout.
The RSF claimed on Tuesday to have driven the army out of the town of Tamboul, where clashes had erupted as the military attempted to regain control from the RSF. The paramilitary group released a video claiming that the army commander in Tamboul and 370 soldiers had been killed. The army has yet to comment on the clashes, though local resistance committees confirm the military’s withdrawal from the town.
Meanwhile, in the state capital Wad Madani, 31 people were reportedly killed during an army airstrike that struck during evening prayers on Sunday night.
Sudan’s conflict between the army and the RSF, now over 18 months old, has spiraled into the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, displacing over 11 million people and leaving half the population facing acute hunger.
