RSF kill dozens of villagers in Jazira State
Heavy weapons aimed at village despite apparent lack of resistance
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) bombarded Wad al-Noura, a farming community in Al-Jazira State, 110 km south of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, killing at least 50 villagers, despite an apparent lack of any combat involving the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).
The attack took place in the early morning hours on Wednesday, June 5, and the victims were buried in a mass grave later the same day.
A video filmed by an RSF soldier near the village showed many RSF vehicles firing heavy machine guns (Doshkas) and anti-aircraft guns toward the village. The cameraman criticizes the villagers for having flooded the area, making it difficult for the RSF to bring their military vehicles to the village.
Such an act of resistance might have provoked the RSF response.
We geolocated this video to 14.536426, 32.509389, which is 800 meters north of Wad al-Noura, the place where dozens of people were buried the same day.
Meanwhile, villagers filmed the collection of the dead afterwards and their burial in a mass grave. Reports differ as to the death toll, with some sources saying it exceeded 100 civilians. This image shows approximately 50-55 bodies.
In addition to the killings, the RSF allegedly looted extensively and stole vehicles.
Wad al-Noura is located on the far western side of Al-Jazira State, near the border with White Nile State. Although the RSF have controlled most of Al-Jazira since last December, the state is large and contains hundreds of villages. Moreover, Wad al-Noura is not near a frontline that has seen active fighting. Therefore, RSF troops may not have visited this village recently, or perhaps not at all.
The nearest known Sudanese army positions are located about 30-50 km from Wad al-Noura in neighboring White Nile, according to our ongoing mapping of the conflict. The village is even farther from Managil (60 km), the only city in Jazira still controlled by the army. These factors suggest that the RSF attack deliberately targeted civilians, not combatants.
Sudanese civil society, human rights activists, and political parties responded with shock at the news of the attack on Wad al-Noura. The Sudanese Congress party called the attack “a real massacre and a heinous crime.” The opposition anti-war party issued the following statement about the attack:
“We condemn this heinous crime committed by the Rapid Support Forces, and all their crimes in Al-Jazira since they took control of most of the state’s territory. We call on the leadership of these forces to immediately stop committing more crimes and violations against innocent, defenseless people in Al Jazeera region and elsewhere. The crimes and violations of the accursed April 15 war leave no choice but to implement the rule of law and bring to justice all those who perpetrated them, and our diligent work is focused on sharpening our efforts with our allies in the Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces in order to end this war through peaceful, negotiated means.”
A similar attack, also described as a “massacre” of dozens of villagers, took place elsewhere in Al Jazeera in April. After that attack, more than 200 wounded arrived in Managil hospital, a medical source told Agence France-Presse.