Multiple sources reported yesterday that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed a massacre in Wad El Noura village in El Gezira, killing more than 100 people yesterday. Condemnations of the attack poured in from various Sudanese political and civil bodies and figures.

A resident of Wad El Noura told Radio Dabanga that the death toll has “so far amounts to 107 people”. The resistance committees of Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, confirmed this on their Facebook page, adding that they “have yet to count all the bodies”.

A video and pictures shared by the Wad Madani Resistance Committees showed villagers assembling in a public square in the village around scores of bodies ready for burial en masse.

Witnesses said that the RSF targeted the village with heavy weapons. A video shared by the Wad Madani Resistance Committees showed men, some in RSF uniform, in Land Cruisers mounted with DShk (Dushka) machine guns firing towards Wad El Noura.

رصد
ود النورة
٢٤ القرشي

استمراراً لتوثيق جرائمها الشنيعة بأيدي منسوبيها ، مليشيا الدعم السريع استخدمت المدفع الثنائي والمدافع الثقيلة والتدوين العنيف في الهجوم على مواطني (قرية ود النورة) لتحصد مئات الأرواح وتقوم بنهب القرية عن بكرة أبيها ، pic.twitter.com/LogXbtCjTm
— لجان مقاومة مدني (@Res_Wadmadani) June 5, 2024

The RSF acknowledged the attack, claiming in a statement on their official X account that they “targeted three camps of Islamist forces in the area who were preparing to attack the RSF.” They added that “El Burhan militia and the Mujahidin brigades mobilised large forces” with the aim of attacking RSF positions. “Our forces will not stand idly by in the face of any enemy movements or gatherings”, the statement says.

Condemnations

The Sovereignty Council, led by Sudan de-facto leader and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Commander-in-Chief Abdelfattah El Burhan, called on the international community and human rights organisations to denounce the massacre and hold its perpetrators accountable, emphasising the principle of no impunity. In a statement yesterday, the council said that this crime is “one of many committed by the RSF, targeting civilians, their property, and forcibly displacing them”.

A number of political parties and civil society organisations condemned the massacre. The Sudanese Congress Party condemned the massacre and called for the RSF to cease what it described as “heinous crimes since its occupation of El Gezira”. The party’s statement, posted yesterday on its X (formerly Twitter) account, noted that the operation led to the death of more than 100 people and the plundering of civilian property.

The Sudanese Minister of Finance and head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Jibril Ibrahim, denounced the Wad El Noura massacre, stating that it was “impossible to coexist with people who kill, plunder, and rape as they are”.

هؤلاء شهداء قرية ود النورة الذين اغتالهم اوباش الدعم السريع صبيحة اليوم الأربعاء ٦يونيو ٢٠٢٤. الرحمة و المغفرة للشهداء و خالص العزاء للأسر المكلومة.
يستحيل التعايش مع أناس القتل و النهب و الإغتصاب ديدنهم أو مع الذين يتماهون معهم و يبررون لشنائعهم. pic.twitter.com/kSdDYzBRX3
— Gebreil Ibrahim (@GebreilIbrahim1) June 5, 2024

The National Umma Party (NUP) described as a “bloody, unprovoked attack on the innocent residents of Wad El Noura,” holding the RSF fully responsible and appealing for an end to attacks on villages and the endangerment of civilians.

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) condemned the massacre “in the strongest terms.” In a statement yesterday, it expressed fear of an outbreak of civil war in the country, declaring full solidarity with the people of Wad El Noura and other affected villages in El Gezira. The DBA called on the world community to take the necessary measures to stop the war, halt human massacres, and prosecute the perpetrators.

The Khartoum Resistance Committees denounced the massacre as “another crime in the RSF’s record of committing crimes against humanity,” describing it as genocide and forced displacement against the residents of El Gezira’s villages.

The Professional Pharmacists Association (PPA) described the massacre as a continuation of the RSF’s longstanding approach of targeting civilians through killing, looting, and displacement. The group called on the Sudanese people to “defend themselves.”

In a post on X, Minni Minawi, the governor of the Darfur region and leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minawi faction (SLM-MM), asked what the world is waiting for after the killing of more than “150 women, children, and the elderly” in Wad El Noura, questioning why countries supporting the RSF are not taking action.