8 killed as Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces target villages

By Adel Abdelrheem

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - At least eight people were killed and several others injured in renewed attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on eight villages in the city of Meheiriba in central Al-Jazira State, local activists said Thursday.

"Villages in western Meheiriba have been under attack by the RSF since Wednesday, starting with the village of Al-Fuwwar, which caused the majority of residents to flee from the village and its surrounding areas," Middle Call, a Sudanese rights group, said in a statement.

"The RSF renewed its attacks on Thursday, targeting the villages of Al-Fuwwar, Salim, Abu Karna, Abara, Umm Kurak, Ajjan, Ma’ijna and Umm Wazain, accompanied by random and intense artillery shelling. This led to the deaths of eight citizens so far and injuries to others,” it added.

It also noted that there are an unspecified number of missing people in the villages as a result of the attacks.

The statement highlighted that the eight villages are witnessing continuous waves of displacement by residents "out of fear of potential actions by the RSF against them."

The RSF currently controls large swaths of Al-Jazira, except for the city of Al-Manaqil and its surrounding areas, which stretch southward to the border of Sennar State and westward to the border of White Nile State.

Since mid-April last year, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and displaced nearly 10 million people, according to the UN.

There have been growing calls from the UN and international bodies to end the conflict, as the war has pushed millions of Sudanese to the brink of famine and death due to food shortages, with the fighting spreading to 13 of Sudan's 18 states.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala