A senior UN official in Sudan has expressed grave concern over reports of “atrocious crimes” in the central Gezira state, particularly involving mass killings of civilians by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Clementine Nkweta-Salami’s remarks followed an activist group’s claim that at least 124 people were killed by the RSF in recent attacks on villages over the past week. The RSF has denied targeting civilians, asserting that its fighters are engaged in clashes with militias backed by the military.
The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has persisted for 18 months, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 11 million people. Gezira state has become a significant battleground, especially after a notable defection from the RSF to the military by one of its commanders, Abu Aqla Kayka, who reportedly brought a large number of his forces with him.
In response, the RSF vowed to defend itself and deal decisively with any armed opposition. Nkweta-Salami, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, stated that preliminary reports indicated the RSF conducted a major offensive across Gezira state between October 20 and 25. This led to mass killings, sexual assaults on women and girls, widespread looting, and the destruction of farms.
Nkweta-Salami likened these “atrocious crimes” to those witnessed in Sudan’s Darfur region last year, where the RSF was accused of “ethnic cleansing” against communities perceived as adversarial. While the death toll remains uncertain, initial reports suggest numerous fatalities in Gezira state.
In a statement released Saturday, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, which advocates for an end to the conflict and a return to democratic governance, accused the RSF of perpetrating “extensive massacres in village after village.” The Sudanese doctors’ union has called on the UN to push both sides in the conflict to establish safe humanitarian corridors for villages facing “genocide” at the hands of the RSF, emphasizing that rescue operations have become impossible and that the army is “incapable” of protecting civilians.
The conflict erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the RSF and military commanders, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who had previously collaborated in a 2021 coup that derailed Sudan’s democratic transition. Despite diplomatic efforts from the US and Saudi Arabia, the two leaders have yet to reach a peace agreement.
