At least 13 people were killed in a shooting incident on Sunday, linked to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Al-Jazira state, located south of Khartoum., a medical source told AFP.
“Thirteen people were killed as a result of the Rapid Support Forces opening fire on civilians in the town of Al-Hilaliya in eastern Al-Jazira state,” about 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the state capital Wad Madani, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Al-Jazira state in Sudan has become a battlefield since the defection of RSF commander Abu Aqla Kaykal.
Kaykal has recently enlisted in the Sudanese military, along with what the armed forces referred to as “a large number” of his soldiers, marking the first high-ranking defection from the RSF.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, reports that major attacks across eastern parts of Al-Jazira state between October 20 and 25 were launched by the RSF.
Salami said the paramilitaries committed sexual assaults, mass killings, looting of markets and homes and burning of farms.
The UN official referred to these “atrocious crimes” as resembling those recorded in Darfur the previous year, in which the RSF faced allegations of human rights violations, including “rape, targeted assaults, sexual violence, and mass murders.”
The conflict in Sudan unfolded in mid-April 2023 between the regular army led by the country’s de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
This conflict has become one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands and displacing over 11 million people.
