In one of the deadliest surges of violence in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, more than 124 civilians have been killed in El Gezira state. Local activists allege that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are behind the “massacres,” accusing the group of targeting civilians with brutal attacks, resulting in widespread injuries, displacement, and chaos.
This tragic incident is just one chapter in a violent civil war that erupted in April last year between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). As the clashes continue, humanitarian agencies report that thousands have been killed, millions are displaced, and Sudan is now facing one of the world’s most severe hunger crises. The situation in El Gezira is particularly dire. Witness accounts detail RSF fighters descending on Al-Sariha, a village that has been reduced to rubble, with dozens of people severely injured, many of whom remain trapped as RSF militants control the area, blocking any evacuation efforts.
The crisis was compounded when the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, a grassroots organization pushing for democracy, reported that over 100 wounded civilians were stranded without any way to receive medical care due to intense shelling. The organization’s statement denounced the “heinous massacre,” calling it “ethnic cleansing” and expressing fears that the actual death toll might be far higher than currently reported.
A member of the Resistance Committees told CNN that the RSF has also detained at least 150 people, including elderly residents who have been stripped of their dignity. The committee shared disturbing footage on social media, showing elderly civilians being manhandled and dozens of local men sitting on the ground under RSF watch, helplessly awaiting their fate.
Tensions in the region have escalated drastically since Abu Aqla Muhammad Ahmed Kikil, the RSF commander in southeastern Sudan, defected to join the SAF days ago. The defection has reportedly spurred retaliatory attacks on El Gezira, with more than 50 villages coming under siege in the past week alone. Communication with other besieged villages has been cut off as RSF forces have seized satellite internet devices and enforced a strict curfew, creating a desperate isolation that has residents fearing the worst.
The RSF, for its part, has accused the national army of stoking violence by arming civilians and using forces loyal to Kikil, the defected commander, as an excuse to launch further attacks. Meanwhile, international concern mounts. Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, expressed horror over the events in El Gezira, condemning the “atrocious crimes,” which reportedly include rape, mass killings, and sexual violence. “It is unacceptable and must stop immediately,” she said.
World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed these concerns, describing the killings as “tragic” and calling for urgent civilian protection measures. His message underscored the devastating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, one that continues to go largely unnoticed by the broader international community.
Now, with more than 11 million people displaced and widespread famine threatening the lives of millions more, Sudan’s conflict reveals the terrifying costs of a war that seems to have no end in sight. This latest violence in El Gezira serves as a grim reminder of the vulnerability of Sudan’s civilians, whose cries for help are met mostly with silence from the world beyond their borders.
