More than 17 killed in RSF attack on village in central Sudan, resistance committee says

Drone footage shows birds in the foreground as clouds of black smoke billow over Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, Sudan on May 1, 2023. PHOTO | REUTERS

By XINHUA

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More than 17 people were killed and many others injured on Friday in an attack by

the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a village in central Sudan, a resistance committee announced on Saturday.

The RSF militia attacked and stormed the Aseer village in Gezira State and "committed a massacre against the village's residents as they were leaving the mosque after performing Friday prayers," the resistance committee in Wad Madani, the capital city of the Gezira State, said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The committee noted that the RSF's attack led to major displacement among the village's residents.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness from the area told Xinhua that "the attack took place as the residents were leaving one of the village's mosques which left nearly 80 people wounded, some of whom suffering serious injuries."

Read: Sudan paramilitary forces attack village, kill 100

"The militia used light and medium weapons, and directly targeted the citizens upon leaving the mosque," the eyewitness said.

He said the RSF forces were still stationed outside the village, noting that "the militia is likely to attack the village again," the reason why there is a large displacement movement from the village.

The RSF took control of Gezira State in December 2023 after the Sudanese Armed Forces (Saf) withdrew from Wad Madani.

Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the Saf and RSF since April 2023, which has claimed more than 15,550 lives and displaced over 8.8 million people nationwide, according to estimates by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.