Sudanese Army Condemns Ethnic Violence As Civilians Suffer In Escalating Conflict In El Gezira

Sudanese army condemned on Saturday recent “individual violations” in El Gezira following accusations by rights groups that the military and its allies had launched ethnically targeted attacks on civilians. Attacks had mostly targeted civilians from western Sudan, living in the central state, and who were accused of collaborating with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the civil war raging across the country.

The violence occurred after Sudanese army forces and allied groups reclaimed the state capital, Wad Madani, from the RSF earlier this week, a major shift in the nearly two-year conflict. According to the human rights group Emergency Lawyers, at least 13 people were killed in the farming settlement of Kambo Tayba, where the army advanced through the area. The group documented the hate speech targeting the residents by associating them with RSF, in addition to capturing rounds ups and torture leading to summary executions.

In a retaliatory statement the Sudanese Military Tuesday said on the violations against kanabi-settlement civilians vowed that any culprit found responsible will face justice concerning such attacks, which they do not support since such activities hurt innocent people who deserved to get justice.

This site of violence and looting by RSF fighters is El Gezira, which bore the brunt of a yearlong campaign that displaced hundreds of thousands of residents. A few reports implicated young men from the marginalized kanabi community of participating in raids by RSF, further heightening ethnic tensions.

A new video shared in the social media shows the execution of a civilian by soldiers who accused him of being part of the RSF. The second one shows a young man being pushed off a bridge by armed men belonging to an army-aligned militia.

The Sudanese Doctors Union condemned the violence and further said that innocent civilians bear the brunt of the ongoing conflict.