A Sudanese pro-democracy activists\u2019 committee on Thursday reported \u201cmore than 104\u201d dead in a single day when paramilitary forces attacked a village, as the UN warned of mass displacement and starvation. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war with the regular army since April 2023, on Wednesday attacked the central village of Wad al-Noura in al-Jazira state \u201cin two waves\u201d with heavy artillery, the Madani Resistance Committee said. It reported on Wednesday that the feared paramilitaries had \u201cinvaded the village\u201d, causing dozens of casualties and widespread displacement. The attack \u201cclaimed the lives of more than 104 martyrs\u201d and \u201cinjured hundreds\u201d said the committee, one of hundreds of similar grassroots groups across Sudan, adding that it reached the toll via \u201cinitial communication with village residents\u201d. The UN resident coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said she was \u201cshocked by reports of violent attacks and a high number of casualties\u201d in the village. She called for an investigation and for \u201cthose responsible to be held accountable\u201d. \u201cHuman tragedy has become a hallmark of life in Sudan. We cannot allow impunity to become another one,\u201d she added. On social media, the committee shared footage of what it said was a \u201cmass grave\u201d in the public square, showing rows of white shrouds laid out in a courtyard. In a little over a year, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, including up to 15,000 in a single West Darfur town. Toll unclear However, the war\u2019s overall death toll remains unclear, with some estimates of up to 150,000, according to US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello. The RSF has repeatedly besieged and attacked entire villages across the country, and has been notorious for widespread looting as well as sexual and ethnic violence. In a statement, the RSF said it had attacked three army camps in the Wad al-Noura area, and clashed with its enemy \u201coutside the city\u201d. The resistance committee called the RSF\u2019s statement an \u201cexpected\u201d attempt to \u201ccriminalise the people of Wad al-Noura and label them a legitimate target\u201d. It also said the villagers had \u201ccalled for help from the armed forces, which did not respond\u201d. The military has not issued an official comment, but Sudan\u2019s ruling sovereignty council, under army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, called Wednesday\u2019s attack a \u201cheinous massacre of defenceless civilians\u201d. The army has come under repeated criticism from Sudanese civilians for \u201cabandoning\u201d them and retreating in the face of RSF offensives, particularly in al-Jazira and the western Darfur region. Both the army and the RSF \u2014 commanded by Burhan\u2019s former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo \u2014 have been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians, indiscriminately shelling residential areas and looting or obstructing humanitarian aid. \u2018War crime\u2019 The Emergency Lawyers, a pro-democracy group of volunteers who document the war\u2019s atrocities, said on Thursday the attack on Wad al-Noura was a \u201cwar crime\u201d and called on the international community to \u201cexert pressure\u201d on both sides to abide by international law. The UN migration agency warned on Thursday that internal displacement figures in Sudan could \u201ctop 10 million\u201d within days. Since the war began, more than seven million people have fled their homes for other parts of Sudan, adding to 2.8 million already displaced from previous conflicts in the war-torn country of 48 million inhabitants. \u201cThe world\u2019s worst internal displacement crisis continues to escalate, with looming famine and disease adding to the havoc wrought by conflict,\u201d the International Organization for Migration said in a statement. Across Sudan, 70 per cent of those displaced \u201care now trying to survive in places that are at risk of famine\u201d, it added. The UN says 18 million people in Sudan are acutely hungry, with 3.6 million children acutely malnourished. Widespread hunger has haunted the country for months, while aid agencies say a lack of data has prevented the official declaration of a famine. If the current humanitarian situation continues, 2.5 million people could die of hunger by the end of September, according to recent estimates by the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch think tank. That figure is \u201cabout 15 percent of the population in Darfur and Kordofan\u201d, the country\u2019s vast western and southern regions which have seen some of the worst fighting, the institute said. The UN has accused both sides of \u201csystematic obstructions and deliberate denials\u201d of humanitarian access.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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