A village in central Sudan was the scene of a deadly attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia on Friday, resulting in the deaths of over 50 civilians and injuries to over 200 more, according to non-governmental groups.
The attack occurred in Alseriha village in Al Kamlin locality, north of Gezira state, with the RSF militia setting up weapons and cannons on high buildings and opening fire on unarmed civilians, said the Gezira Conference, a non-governmental group, in a statement. The resistance committee, a volunteer group in Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state, also confirmed the attack, reporting that “more than 53 citizens of Alseriha village were killed and over 200 others injured, some of them in critical condition.”
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the RSF’s “retaliatory campaigns” against villages and cities in Gezira state, calling them “genocide and ethnic cleansing” in a statement on Friday. The ministry accused the RSF of carrying out campaigns based on tribal and regional divisions.
Meanwhile, official figures released by Khartoum State’s health authorities on Friday paint a grim picture of the overall toll of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF militia, which began on April 15.
The state’s health authority spokesman, Mohamed Ibrahim, reported that 4,882 people have died in Khartoum State since the conflict began. This figure includes 1,628 deaths in hospitals from war-related injuries, with an additional 3,254 bodies brought to hospitals. The authority also reported 32,167 injuries treated in hospitals and 23,011 surgeries performed to remove bullets and shrapnel.
Ibrahim noted that these figures only include those recorded at operational hospitals and medical facilities in both public and private sectors since the conflict began. He also highlighted the disproportionate impact on children and women, who were targeted by “deliberate artillery shelling” by the RSF on residential neighbourhoods and operational health facilities.
The authority confirmed that 24 healthcare professionals were killed while providing medical services inside hospitals, and 17 others were taken prisoner from within health facilities.
Khartoum State, encompassing major cities like Khartoum, North Khartoum, and Omdurman, is the most populous state in Sudan, despite being the smallest in area.
While Khartoum State’s health authority provided the first official statistics on the conflict’s casualties since its outbreak, accurate figures remain elusive, with conflicting death tolls reported by local and international bodies.
On May 19, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate estimated over 30,000 deaths and more than 70,000 injuries since the conflict began, noting the actual toll could be even higher.
On June 25, the New York-based International Rescue Committee reported that “conservative estimates” suggest at least 15,500 people have already died from the conflict, while some estimates are as high as 150,000.
However, according to a situation report issued by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project on Oct. 14, the deadly conflict has resulted in more than 24,850 deaths.
