46 killed in 'paramilitary attacks, epidemics' in Sudan

Port Sudan, Nov 21
At least 46 people have been killed in a village in Sudan due to alleged attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and spreading diseases, a medical source and a volunteer group said.

The medical source from a hospital near Wad Ashib village in Gezira State told that "during Tuesday and Wednesday, the hospital received bodies of 21 people who were killed in an RSF attack on the village. The attack was repeated on Wednesday," Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Nidaa Al-Wasat Platform, a volunteer group monitoring rights violations in central Sudan, said in a statement that the village "has been besieged by the RSF, which prevented medical and food supplies, leading to the death of 25 people so far."

The RSF has not commented on the alleged attacks.

Activists and volunteer groups have been accusing the RSF of carrying out a series of attacks on Gezira since its commander in Sudan, Abu Aqla Keikel, surrendered himself and his forces to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on October 20.

In its latest update, the Gezira Conference, a local non-governmental group monitoring violations in Sudan, said the death toll in Al-Hilaliya city in Gezira, which has been besieged for nearly a month, has risen to 537.

A report published on November 14 by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said around 343,473 individuals, or 68,801 households, were displaced from locations across Gezira state from October 20 to November 13.

Sudan has been gripped by a devastating conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023. According to the most recent update by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the deadly conflict has resulted in more than 27,120 deaths.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, epidemic diseases such as cholera, malaria, measles, and dengue fever have spread, leading to hundreds of deaths.

The conflict has displaced over 14 million people, either inside or outside Sudan, according to the latest estimates by IOM.