22 civilians killed in attack by Rapid Support Forces in southern Sudan: Medical group

By Adel Abdel-Rahim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - A Sudanese medical group said Friday that 22 civilians were killed and hundreds injured in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in southern Sudan.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate said RSF attacked eastern villages of Sennar State, including the Sheikh Al-Samani village, and committed massacres against unarmed civilians.

It added that the RSF also attacked a building adjacent to a mosque in the village that was sheltering displaced people.

The country's official news agency quoted Sennar Gov. Tawfiq Mohammad Ali who condemned the attack and described it as a "coward brutal attack by RSF against innocent people including children, women and elderly."

The RSF has yet to comment on the accusation.

The conflict in Sudan that started in April 2023 has resulted in more than 16,000 deaths, displaced nearly 10 million people, and left over 25 million in need of humanitarian assistance, making it one of the world's largest displacement and hunger crises, according to the UN.

Sudan has been mired in fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and the RSF paramilitary group.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar