Over 2,000 civilians killed in Sudan's El Fasher after paramilitary forces' control: Govt

Khartoum, Oct 29 (IANS) The Sudanese government said Wednesday that more than 2,000 civilians have been killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in western Sudan's El Fasher since it entered the city.

During a press conference in Port Sudan, Mona Nour Al-Daem, Sudan's Deputy Commissioner of Humanitarian Aid, condemned the act as "genocide against unarmed civilians."

She said the RSF has "executed patients and the wounded in hospitals" and hunted fleeing civilians, with many victims subjected to sexual violence, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, the volunteer group, the Sudan Doctors Network, reported nearly 1,500 civilian deaths caused by the RSF in El Fasher over the past three days, bringing the total death toll in the city since the RSF siege began in May 2024 to over 14,000.

It said in a statement that the latest killings are part of a long campaign of shelling, starvation, and executions under a "complete and deliberate siege" targeting hospitals, markets, and displacement camps.

The Sudan Founding Alliance, a coalition that includes the RSF, several armed movements, political parties, and civil society forces, has denied any violence against civilians in El Fasher.

On Sunday, the RSF claimed control of El Fasher. On Monday, Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said the SAF withdrew "for military reasons" but vowed to retake the city.

The war between the SAF and the RSF, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and left much of the country on the brink of famine.

--IANS

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