KHARTOUM, Sudan
Sudanese activists said Monday that civilian deaths in the town of Al-Hilaliya in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state have reached 350 amid attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since Oct. 20.
Reports by the local civil group Central Call indicate the RSF has besieged large areas, leaving tens of thousands of people without essential resources.
Both local and international entities have accused the RSF of committing “mass killings” and severe human rights abuses against civilians in Al Jazirah.
The RSF has not issued a statement in response to the reports.
The RSF renewed its confrontations with the Sudanese Armed Forces in Al Jazirah on Oct. 20 after the defection of Abu Aqla Keikil, a prominent RSF leader from Al Jazirah, who joined the Sudanese army.
In December last year, Keikil led RSF forces in taking control of several cities, including Wad Madani, the state’s capital.
Currently, RSF forces control much of Al Jazirah except for areas around the town of Al Manaqil and locations bordering Sennar state to the south and White Nile state to the west.
Central Call issued a statement condemning the RSF’s “unjust siege” against civilians, which it described as causing widespread fatalities from malnutrition, dehydration and a lack of medical supplies.
“Victims have been buried in mass graves, lacking even the basic rites traditionally observed,” the statement added.
On Sunday, Central Call reported 315 deaths in Al-Hilaliya, including 20 fatalities from gunfire and 295 deaths attributed to poisoning and deteriorating health conditions.
Following accusations from Sudan’s Foreign Ministry last Thursday that RSF forces killed 120 civilians in Al-Hilaliya, Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate said Friday that the death toll had climbed to 200.
On Monday, US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello condemned reports of RSF forces poisoning food supplies, saying on X that “emerging reports that RSF soldiers poisoned hundreds of Sudanese in the village of Al-Hilaliya shock the conscience.”
“To poison food in a country already suffering from famine is an especially heinous act. If confirmed, General Hemedti and all of the RSF leadership need to answer,” he added, referring to the head of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo.
Local sources told Anadolu that the RSF continues to target Al-Hilaliya, one of the largest towns in eastern Al Jazirah, imposing a siege on tens of thousands of its residents.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and displaced nearly 13 million people, according to the UN.
There has been a growing call from the UN and international bodies to end the conflict, as the war has pushed millions of Sudanese to the brink of famine and death due to food shortages, with the fighting spreading to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.
