Sudan accuses Rapid Support Forces of executing over 31 civilians

Sudan accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Monday of executing more than 31 unarmed civilians west of the capital Khartoum.

"Once again, the RSF militia confirms its criminal and terrorist nature, waging a proxy war on behalf of its regional sponsor against the Sudanese people and their national state," Sudan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"This latest terrorist crime, which has shocked the human conscience, involved the cold-blooded execution of more than 31 unarmed civilians on Sunday in Omdurman," it added.

On Sunday, the Sudan Doctors Network reported that RSF forces killed 31 people, including children, in the Al-Salha neighborhood of Omdurman.

Activists shared videos on social media showing individuals in RSF uniforms shooting at a group of people.

However, the RSF denied responsibility in a statement Sunday, claiming that the armed individuals seen in videos executing civilians were not affiliated with its ranks.

For weeks, various parts of Omdurman have witnessed clashes between the Sudanese army and RSF fighters as the RSF defends its last strongholds in Khartoum state.

Separately, violent clashes broke out between the army and the RSF in the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, according to a military statement.

Meanwhile, the El Fasher Resistance Coordination Committee, a grassroots civilian group, said that "heavy and ongoing fighting involving heavy and light weapons is taking place today across the city."

In a statement, the committee said that several charity kitchens and meal centers have temporarily suspended operations until the situation calms down, "due to the severe conditions the city is currently enduring."

It said that "with the intensification of deliberate and violent shelling, preparing a hot meal has become a life-threatening risk for cooks and volunteers."

The charity kitchens provide hot meals to tens of thousands of residents and internally displaced people in El Fasher, many of whom have been suffering under an RSF-imposed siege for over a year.

Since April 15, 2023, the RSF has been battling Sudanese forces for control of the country, resulting in thousands of deaths and one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

More than 20,000 people have been killed so far and 15 million others displaced, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US scholars, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.