Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have attacked villages in the east of Sudan's El Gezira state, killing at least 25 people, following the defection of high-ranking RSF officer Abuagla Keikal who is from the area, activists said.
A Sudanese national flag is attached to a machine gun of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldiers in this file photo from Khartoum, Sudan, June 22, 2019. Reuters/Umit Bektas
Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have attacked villages in the east of Sudan's El Gezira state, killing at least 25 people, following the defection of high-ranking RSF officer Abuagla Keikal who is from the area, activists said.
As soldiers from other RSF divisions ransacked the farming state beginning in December, Keikal's local forces had held incursions into east Gezira at bay, sparing civilians the worst of the violence while imposing control on the area.
But following his defection on Sunday, large numbers of RSF soldiers streamed into the region, in what activists described as revenge, reporting displacement, looting and killings.
"Now they have their chance to do what they want," said one activist who asked to remain anonymous to protect family in the area.
The Rufaa Resistance Committee, a pro-democracy group, said on Tuesday that at least 25 people had been killed in Rufaa, the area's largest town, and seven other villages and towns since Sunday. Most Rufaa residents had been displaced and homes looted, while there were several reports of rape, it said.
An eyewitness from the town of Hilalia said he had seen RSF soldiers looting market and medical clinics, though a network blackout meant few details were available.
The RSF said on Tuesday it had driven the army out of the town of Tamboul, where the two sides had clashed as the army continues a campaign to regain territory from the RSF.
The RSF shared a video on Tuesday purportedly showing that the army's commander in Tamboul had been killed along with 370 other soldiers. The Rufaa committee said the army had withdrawn from the town, while the army did not immediately release a statement on the clashes.
The resistance committee in the state capital Wad Madani said on Monday 31 people had been killed in an army airstrike during evening prayers the night before.
The war that broke out between the army and the RSF more than 18 months ago has created the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with more than 11 million people displaced and half the population facing acute hunger.
Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo and Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai
Sudan's army said on Sunday a commander from its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had defected with some of his troops, in what would be the first such move by a senior figure since the sides started fighting more than 18 months ago.
The leader of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, accused Egypt of being involved in airstrikes on the group's troops in a recorded speech on Wednesday.
Local volunteers who have helped to feed Sudan's most destitute during 17 months of war say attacks against them by the opposing sides are making it difficult to provide life-saving aid amid the world's biggest hunger crisis.
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