Sudan’s army announced on Thursday it would give a “harsh response” to the attack on the village of Wad Al-Noora by the RSF, according to Reuters.
The attack was the largest in a string of dozens of assaults by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldiers on small villages across the farming state since the capture of the capital Wad Madani in December. The statement by army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan followed accusations by local activists that the army had failed to respond to requests for help on Wednesday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric announced.
The Secretary-General urges all parties to refrain from any attacks that could harm civilians or damage civilian infrastructure. The Secretary-General expresses his deep concern regarding the immense suffering of the Sudanese population as a result of the continued hostilities.
Moreover, a senior UN official in Sudan on Thursday called for an investigation into the attack in Wad al-Noora village in Gezira State, central Sudan. UN Humanitarian Coordinator Clementine Nkweta-Salami stated:
Even by the tragic standards of Sudan’s conflict, the images emerging from Wad Al-Noora are heart-breaking.
RSF actions
The committee claimed on Thursday that 104 people were killed and hundreds wounded in Wad al-Noora, with the RSF advancing towards other villages.
Wad al-Noora village … witnessed genocide on Wednesday after the RSF attacked twice.
The RSF began fighting on the army’s side in April 2023 after disputes over the integration of the two forces and has since captured the capital Khartoum and much of western Sudan. It is now seeking to advance into the centre as UN agencies say the people of Sudan are at “imminent risk of famine.”
On Thursday, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee in Karari, an army-controlled area north of the capital, blamed the RSF for the shelling that it claimed killed 22 people. The committee also accused the RSF on Wednesday of using heavy artillery against civilians, looting and forcing women and children to seek refuge in the neighbouring town of Managil.
The people of Wad al-Noora called on the army to rescue them, but they shamefully did not respond. These are criminal acts that reflect the systematic behaviour of these militias in targeting civilians.
