Al-Sariha a new massacre by the RSF in Al-Jazeera State

26 October 2024

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have intensified their military operations in Al-Jazeera State, committing another massacre on Friday in the village of al-Sariha, resulting in the deaths of 124 civilians, around 200 injuries, and the detention of 150 people, according to local residents who fled the area.

Ayin listened to a series of voice recordings from al-Sariha villagers, pleading with nearby communities to send medicine and medical aid.

Residents from the region told Ayin that RSF came early on Friday in a sweeping attack, using heavy weapons against the village with no military presence. According to the “Al-Jazeera Conference,” a civil society-based organisation, the RSF set up weapons and artillery atop buildings and began firing at unarmed civilians. An eyewitness confirmed this, saying snipers jumped onto the roofs of houses and fired indiscriminately at people. The same source said the RSF raided homes on the pretext of searching for young men, threatening to kill them, and looted everything in sight, including cars and agricultural supplies.

The Conference also reported that the RSF have taken over 150 villagers to detention centres in Kab Al-Jadad, near Al-Sareeha.

For several days, the RSF has been attacking numerous villages and towns in Al-Jazeera State, including Tamboul, Rufaa, and nearby villages in eastern Al-Jazeera, as well as western villages like Azraq and Saleem.

In the east, RSF attacks in Tamboul and Rufaa and the surrounding villages caused dozens of civilian deaths and large-scale displacement from villages such as Safita Al-Nawab, Safita, Al-Arabiya, Al-Suqai’a, Wad Rahoom, Bant, Al-Awaida, Al-Habika Al-Naqr, Al-Habika Okood, Al-Uraybab, and Al-Sharfa. Many of these displaced people have sought refuge in Halfa Al-Jadida and Al-Qadarif, travelling on foot, while some of Tamboul’s residents fled to Haddaf and Wad Al-Fadl.

The RSF’s attacks, described as “retaliatory,” came in response to the defection of military leader Abu Akla Kaikal from the RSF and his joining the army.

In December, the RSF took control of Al-Jazeera State and carried out a similar massacre in Wad al-Noura village, killing at least 160 people.

These attacks have drawn widespread local and international condemnation. On Friday, U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, stated, “We are monitoring the latest horrifying attacks by the RSF against civilians in Al-Jazeera State.” Perriello, via his X account, expressed his concern, stating that “the killings and sexual violence committed by these forces are horrifying.”

Sexual violence

The Sudanese government’s Unit for Combating Violence Against Women and Children reported on Friday that “preliminary reports indicate that the RSF has used sexual violence and rape as part of its war tactics during the conflict, aiming to humiliate men, weaken communities, destroy their foundations, and force them to flee their homes.”

The unit expressed deep concern over the increasing severity of violations against civilians in Al-Jazeera State, particularly those involving sexual violence against women and girls. It mentioned receiving unconfirmed reports of sexual violence cases committed by RSF members against women and girls in some villages, following an escalation in violations against civilians in eastern Al-Jazeera. Additionally, it noted incidents of sexual violence against female healthcare workers in at least one facility.