New Halfa: Late last month, as Salwa Abdallah recovered from a caesarean section and cared for her one-month-old baby, soldiers from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed her home in El Gezira state. Accusing her of supporting the Sudanese army, the RSF soldiers issued a violent threat: “You killed us, so today we’ll kill you and rape your girls.” Fleeing on foot with her elderly mother and children, Abdallah reached the town of New Halfa after days of walking, recounting how RSF soldiers had whipped them and fired at them on motorcycles. Abdallah’s experience aligns with accounts from other victims of the RSF’s intense raids on eastern Gezira.
According to activists, these raids have impacted at least 65 villages and towns, displacing approximately 135,000 people, many now seeking refuge in Kassala, Gedaref, and River Nile states—already overwhelmed by over 11 million internally displaced people since the war began in April 2023.
“I am shocked and deeply appalled that human rights violations of the kind witnessed in Darfur last year… are being repeated in El Gezira State,” stated Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN’s top official in Sudan. Nkweta-Salami condemned the violence as “atrocious crimes,” recalling the attacks in Darfur that drew accusations of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity from global entities, including the United States.
Escalating Violence and Humanitarian Crisis
The violence has decimated crops, escalated hunger, and destroyed any semblance of governance in RSF-controlled regions. Both the RSF and Sudanese army have been accused of blocking crucial international aid, further aggravating the humanitarian crisis.
El Gezira state has been under intense looting since RSF forces seized control in December. After the RSF state leader defected, a new wave of revenge attacks began. The Wad Madani Resistance Committee, a pro-democracy group, has documented 169 civilian deaths since October 20, though it claims the true toll may be far higher. The UN’s human rights office recently reported at least 25 cases of sexual violence, including the death of an 11-year-old girl. The RSF is also accused of confiscating internet devices in 30 villages and burning crop fields.
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The most severe incident occurred on October 25 in al-Sireha, where the Resistance Committee reported 124 fatalities. Video footage verified by Reuters shows RSF soldiers taunting men, many elderly and visibly injured, forcing them to make sheep sounds. Another video depicts rows of bodies wrapped in sheets, awaiting burial. The RSF denies ordering these attacks, attributing the violence to the army’s alleged arming of local civilians. Meanwhile, the army has emphasized civilian resistance campaigns, though evidence of widespread civilian arming in Gezira is minimal.
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Firsthand Accounts of RSF Brutality
Hashim Bashir, who lost his leg before the conflict, shared how RSF soldiers evicted him from his home in al-Nayb. “They are very vicious… If you survive their gunshots, they hit you in your head. If you survive that, they beat you with a whip,” he said, displaying scars on his remaining leg. His niece, Faiza Mohammed, described how RSF soldiers prohibited them from taking any belongings, including identification. “I hid under the bed, but they got me, beat me, and pulled my earring straight off my ear,” she recounted.
The Sudanese Human Rights Monitor has urged the army not to abandon civilians to direct confrontations with the RSF, criticizing the forces for failing to protect those most vulnerable in the escalating conflict.
