Sudanese Witnesses Report RSF Violations in Al Jazirah State to Al Jazeera
In remote villages in the Al Jazirah state in central Sudan, thousands of civilians are enduring siege, terror, and oppression at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a manner unprecedented in their areas, as reported by witnesses to Al Jazeera.
Since the start of the conflict between the army and RSF in mid-April last year, the areas bordering the capital have been affected by the fighting, with RSF elements expanding into them. A series of serious violations against civilians have ensued, usually beginning with questioning the loyalty of some residents to the army or military intelligence, followed by organized looting of cars, properties, financial assets, and gold jewelry.
Residents from the Kabb al-Jadad area in Al Jazirah state have recounted to Al Jazeera the continuous violations and oppression they have faced months after the war began. They are left without anyone to protect them or lift the imposed siege.
Kabb al-Jadad city is located in the north-western part of the Al Jazirah project, south of the capital Khartoum, approximately 65 km away. The city belongs to the Kamelien region of Al Jazirah state and is known for its economic and commercial activity relying on its strategic location. The population is estimated to be around 5,000 residents.
The people of Kabb al-Jadad have been suffering for months from the practices of the RSF. Witness accounts detail how RSF forces have spread into the village, subjecting residents to violence and plunder under the pretext of hosting an army force led by General Ayoub, who arrived from the Blue Nile en route to reclaim the Tiba camp, one of the major RSF strongholds in Khartoum.
Residents have described incidents where RSF forces looted cars, motorcycles, mobile phones, money, and gold accessories. If they could not find anything to take, they resorted to brutal violence, even targeting patients and their caregivers in hospitals for robbery.
One witness recalled the initial intrusion of RSF elements into their town on motorcycles armed with firearms, raiding the main market, attempting to loot an electric company vehicle and clashing with the market-goers. This resulted in the death of one person, injuries to another, and the fleeing of the rest present.
The witness continued, stating that later in the evening, about 9 RSF vehicles arrived and fired shots to intimidate. Upon failure to force people out, they stormed the mosque, arresting 10 individuals. When a phone rang from the detainees, they shot the owner dead on the spot, alleging he was a spy for the army.
The nine detainees were taken to Soba prison while the dead man’s body was left in the mosque courtyard.
The incident prompted a significant number of families, particularly women and children, to leave the town, although most men and youth chose to remain. Some families opted not to leave.
The following evening, the RSF state commander for Al Jazirah, Abu Aqila Kekel, arrived in the area with the nine detainees and 13 military vehicles. One of the abductees recounted being buried alive by the force that abducted them but was dug out following Kekel’s orders. He then took them to the village, where he apologized to the residents, under terrifying circumstances as soldiers shot in the air and patrolled the streets, causing extreme fear.
Kekel ordered an RSF vehicle to remain near the police station to secure the village. However, the RSF elements in the vehicle proceeded to loot citizens near the station and the market, assaulting anyone who refused to surrender their belongings.
Since that day, their attacks for looting in retaliation for their fallen comrade and because Kabb al-Jadad hosted General Ayoub and his troops have continued. General Ayoub Abdel Qadir is the commander of the 17th Infantry Division and a prominent army leader who was killed in mid-October last year following artillery shelling by RSF forces targeting the Armoured Corps headquarters south of Khartoum.
Following the incident, a large force arrived in the area, repainted the police station, replaced it with the RSF logo, appointed a mayor from the locals, imposed financial fines, and resorted to flogging and shaving the heads of young men.
Additionally, they levied fees on street vendors in the town market, while their looting, confiscation of phones and merchandise, coercive release for a ransom, and the invented requirement of written permits from RSF to transport goods within the state continued.
Similar conditions prevail in many villages neighboring Kabb al-Jadad, where RSF’s reach extends to various northern villages in Al Jazirah state, including Sadira East and West, Habiba, Lawta, Nuba, and Masoudia.
However, according to Ahmad Ali, a pseudonym for an eyewitness, the situation worsened after the fall of Wad Madani and the army’s withdrawal from defense lines, allowing a wider spread of RSF forces that reached even remote villages, engaging in brutal looting and intimidation of ordinary inhabitants.
Video clips of a large number of youth and elderly people in Al Mu’aylak, Al Jazirah state, after their detention by RSF forces in January last year have sparked widespread reactions. At least 7 individuals were killed, around 40 others arrested, subjected to physical abuse, insults, humiliation, and forced crawling after being accused of collaborating with the army in digging trenches and earth barriers to repel RSF attacks.
Subsequently, RSF displayed a video addressing Al Mu’aylak’s residents, showing them releasing the detainees, claiming they were provoked by the army and were subsequently liberated.
According to residents of Al Mu’aylak, RSF forces, which had occupied the area for three days, terrorized and humiliated the population unprecedentedly under the pretext of confronting agitators supporting the army. They looted the bank and stores, ransacked them for scarce provisions, searched for what they claimed to be hidden weapons, but instead stole phones, light valuable belongings, and used heavy weapons in their assault, instilling extreme fear and terror among the locals.
RSF previously announced the formation of a committee to combat negative phenomena to address rogue elements, imposing strict penalties on aggressors against citizens in Al Jazirah state, resorting to live ammunition on those who resist the committee’s orders in the state.
