A local civil society organization, the Gezira Conference, has condemned recent attacks in Gezira State’s northern and eastern regions, labeling them a massacre. According to the organization, members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed a town in Al-Kamelin locality on Friday morning, firing indiscriminately from high-rise buildings, resulting in at least 50 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
In Tamboul, a city in northern Gezira, RSF fighters reportedly went on a violent spree, killing dozens of civilians and displacing thousands. Local groups suggest these attacks may stem from anger over a high-ranking RSF commander’s recent defection. Abu Aqlah Keikel, the de facto ruler of Gezira province, surrendered to the Sudanese military in early October. Keikel, a native of Gezira, had been a prominent RSF leader.
Sudan’s Doctors’ Union has reported that RSF attacks have transformed eastern Gezira into “a brutal war zone.” They accuse RSF fighters of committing sexual violence, assaulting healthcare facilities, and forcibly displacing residents.
Forgotten Crisis
On Friday, senior United Nations official Ted Chaiban called for increased international awareness of what he termed Sudan’s “forgotten crisis.” Chaiban, the deputy head of UNICEF, highlighted that more than a year and a half of war has pushed Sudan to the brink of famine. He condemned the RSF’s actions across villages and towns in Gezira, where they have reportedly looted and vandalized public and private property, according to reports from the doctors’ union and local youth groups.
Chaiban emphasized that the ongoing conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese military and the RSF, has created “one of the most acute crises in living memory.” Over 14 million people have been forced from their homes, making Sudan the world’s largest displacement crisis. “We’ve never in a generation seen these types of numbers,” Chaiban told The Associated Press, referring to the displaced population, the 8.5 million people now facing emergency levels of food insecurity, and 775,000 experiencing famine-like conditions.
“The whole country has been dislocated,” he added. “And yet, despite that, the country and the crisis is forgotten.”
