Khartoum, Mar 30 : At least 16 civilians were killed in attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on villages in central Sudan, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee announced on Saturday.

“The RSF attacked the village of Wad Abu Amna (in Gezira State) in central Sudan, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others,” the committee said in a statement.

“The RSF also attacked Al-Manasra village, killing five people and wounding several others,” the statement said, noting that the RSF also raided the village of Basut, leading to a number of casualties that the committee was unable to determine.

In the meantime, the Sudanese Emergency Lawyers, a non-governmental organization, said that hundreds of civilians fled from the villages in Gezira State due to escalating violations by the RSF against local residents.

During the past days, the RSF attacked several villages in Gezira State, killing and wounding dozens of unarmed civilians, looting homes, shops, and markets, in addition to committing sexual violence and illegal detention, the organization said in a statement.

The RSF has not yet commented on what happened in Gezira State.

The RSF took control of Gezira State in central Sudan in December 2023 after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) withdrew from the garrison of the state’s capital of Wad Madani.

Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been witnessing violent confrontations between the SAF and the RSF, resulting in the displacement of about 8.1 million people, with about 6.3 million displaced internally, according to the Sudan situation report updated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs last month.

The report noted that about 13,900 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, citing data recorded by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

UNI