Sudan Doctors: At Least 100 Killed in Armed Fighter Clashes

FILE PHOTO: Rapid Support Forces upload disarmed weapons for display during Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visit to the war-torn Darfur region at Rapid Support Forces Headquarter in Umm Al-Qura, Darfur, Sudan September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Rapid Support Forces upload disarmed weapons for display during Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visit to the war-torn Darfur region at Rapid Support Forces Headquarter in Umm Al-Qura, Darfur, Sudan September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
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Sudan Doctors: At Least 100 Killed in Armed Fighter Clashes

FILE PHOTO: Rapid Support Forces upload disarmed weapons for display during Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visit to the war-torn Darfur region at Rapid Support Forces Headquarter in Umm Al-Qura, Darfur, Sudan September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Rapid Support Forces upload disarmed weapons for display during Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visit to the war-torn Darfur region at Rapid Support Forces Headquarter in Umm Al-Qura, Darfur, Sudan September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

At least 100 people were killed in clashes that erupted last month between armed fighters in a city in Sudan’s restive region of Darfur, according to the Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate.

Hospitals were still out of service in the Darfur city of Genena and an accurate count of the wounded was still hard to make, the doctors’ union added in a statement posted on their official Facebook page late Sunday.

The fighting in Genena, which broke out a few days after Sudan’s two rival generals took arms against each other in Khartoum, pointed to the possibility that conflict in the capital could spiral to other parts of the East African country, The Associated Press reported.

At least 481 civilians were killed in Khartoum clashes that erupted in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, according to the same doctors’ statement. The number of the wounded among civilians has jumped to more than 2560.



In Absentia Trial of Hemedti Kicks off in Sudan over 2023 West Darfur Governor Murder

This file photo shows Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Juba, South Sudan, on Oct. 21, 2019. (Reuters)
This file photo shows Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Juba, South Sudan, on Oct. 21, 2019. (Reuters)
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In Absentia Trial of Hemedti Kicks off in Sudan over 2023 West Darfur Governor Murder

This file photo shows Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Juba, South Sudan, on Oct. 21, 2019. (Reuters)
This file photo shows Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Juba, South Sudan, on Oct. 21, 2019. (Reuters)

A Sudanese court kicked off on Sunday the in absentia trial of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, his brother Abdel Rahim and 14 members of the group in the murder of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abkar in June 2023.

The Port Sudan court listened to the prosecution’s opening statement. Attorney General Al-Fatih Tayfour described the case as significant and that it underscores the rule of law.

Akbar was killed on June 14, 2023, after he was kidnapped by the RSF. Videos circulated on social media showed his killing and the mutilation of his body.

The presiding judge demanded the maximum sentence against the accused. If indicted, they could either face life in prison or the death sentence.

He said Akbar was killed in cold blood with the participation of his deputy Tijani Al-Tahir Karshom.

The United Nations mission in Sudan had condemned the “heinous” murder, adding that witnesses attested that the “Arab tribe militias” loyal to the RSF had committed it.

It had called for the prepetrators to be brought to justice.

The RSF had denied its involvement in the crime, saying it was a dangerous escalation in local tribal conflicts. It said the criminals were “undisciplined” tribe members, while the army accused the RSF of involvement.