In a fresh escalation of violence, Islamist groups and forces loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been accused of committing brutal massacres, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced Tuesday.
According to a statement by the RSF, airstrikes orchestrated by coup forces and remnants of Sudan’s former regime struck densely populated areas in East Darfur’s capital, Al-Daein. The attacks, described as indiscriminate, reportedly claimed the lives of civilians and targeted essential infrastructure.
Among the sites hit were the Al-Daein Teaching Hospital, a vital center for healthcare in the region, as well as other public facilities, including a police station and an elementary school. The RSF statement also mentioned extensive destruction of residential areas in Tawisha locality, North Darfur, and reports of entire families killed in Al-Hasahisa city, Al-Jazirah State.
The scale of devastation is still being assessed, with dozens of women and children among the dead and injured. The RSF condemned the targeting of a kidney dialysis center and the women’s maternity ward at Al-Daein Hospital as deliberate attacks on civilian life.
The statement went on to highlight the destruction of a refrigeration unit holding vaccines critical for children’s immunization programs, further amplifying the human toll of the attacks. Many homes and residential buildings were also reduced to rubble.
The RSF accused the Islamist-backed “Port Sudan Gang” of engaging in a scorched-earth policy aimed at destroying Sudan’s diverse communities and opposition forces. “They are showing no moral restraint or human conscience,” the statement read.
The RSF vowed that the crimes committed by al-Burhan’s forces, including the widespread use of airstrikes and heavy artillery against civilian targets, will not be forgotten.
The group labeled the attacks as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In their closing remarks, the RSF reaffirmed their resolve to fight against what they called the “criminal regime” of al-Burhan and his Islamist allies. The group pledged to continue their struggle for a new Sudan rooted in democratic civilian rule and the establishment of a unified professional military that serves the nation’s interests, not those of political factions.
Over the past 16 months, more than 18,800 people have been killed and at least 33,000 injured in Sudan, according to figures from the UN, which recently warned that the country is at a “cataclysmic breaking point.”
