Sudan committee says 'up to 100' killed in village attack

Sudanese aviation professionals’ alliance wave national flags as they rally in support of civilian rule at Khartoum airport in 2019. [AFP]

A paramilitary attack on a central Sudan village has killed "up to 100" people, a local pro-democracy activists' committee said Thursday.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war with the regular army since April 2023, attacked the village of Wad al-Noura in al-Jazira state "in two waves" with heavy artillery on Wednesday, said the Madani Resistance Committee.

They said the feared paramilitaries "invaded the village", causing widespread displacement and dozens of casualties.

"Up to 100 people were killed," said the committee, one of hundreds of similar grassroots groups across Sudan, adding that they were "waiting for a confirmed toll of the dead and injured".

On social media, the committee shared footage of what they said was a "mass grave" in the public square, showing rows of white shrouds laid out in a courtyard.

In a little over a year, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, including up to 15,000 in a single West Darfur town.

The war's overall death toll, however, remains unclear, with some estimates of up to "150,000", according to US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello.

The RSF has repeatedly laid siege to and attacked entire villages across Sudan, particularly in the agricultural state of Al-Jazira.

In a statement Thursday, the RSF said it had attacked three army camps in the Wad al-Noura area, and clashed with the enemy "outside the city".