RSF Attack on Sudan Village Kills Dozens

Smoke rises in Sudanese city amid fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces. (AP)
Smoke rises in Sudanese city amid fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces. (AP)
TT

RSF Attack on Sudan Village Kills Dozens

Smoke rises in Sudanese city amid fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces. (AP)
Smoke rises in Sudanese city amid fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces. (AP)

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed dozens of people in an attack on a village south of the capital Khartoum, a local doctors' committee said Sunday.

RSF carried out a "massacre" in "the village of Um Adam" 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of the city Saturday, the Sudan Doctors Committee said in a statement.

Sudan's war between the military, under army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, began last April 15.

Many thousands of people have been killed, including up to 15,000 in a single town in the war-ravaged Darfur region, according to United Nations experts.

The war has also displaced more than 8.5 million people, practically destroyed Sudan's already fragile infrastructure and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Saturday's attack "resulted in the killing (of) at least 28 innocent villagers and more than 240 people wounded," the committee said.

It added that "there are a number of dead and wounded in the village that we were not able to count" due to the fighting and difficulty in reaching health facilities, according to AFP.

A local activists' committee had given a toll of 25 earlier in the day.

A medical source at the Manaqil hospital, 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) away, confirmed to AFP that they had "received 200 wounded, some of whom arrived too late."

"We're facing a shortage of blood, and we don't have enough medical personnel," he added.

More than 70 percent of Sudan's health facilities are out of service, according to the UN, while those remaining receive many times their capacity and have meager resources.

Both sides in the conflict have been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and looting and obstructing aid.

Since taking over Al-Jazira state just south of Khartoum in December, the RSF has laid siege to and attacked entire villages such as Um Adam.

By March, at least 108 villages and settlements across the country had been set on fire and "partially or completely destroyed," the UK-based Center for Information Resilience has found.



US Says Committed to 'Diplomatic Resolution' in Lebanon

FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)
TT

US Says Committed to 'Diplomatic Resolution' in Lebanon

FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that the United States was dedicated to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon and urged Israel to improve "dire" conditions in Gaza, in a call Saturday with his Israeli counterpart.

Austin "reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border" in his call with Israel Katz, according to a Pentagon spokesperson.

Austin also "urged the Government of Israel to continue to take steps to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza and emphasized the US commitment to securing the release of all hostages, including US citizens."

Lebanon said Saturday that an Israeli air strike in the heart of Beirut that brought down a residential building and jolted residents across the city killed at least 11 people.

Israel stepped up its campaign against the Hezbollah militant group in late September, targeting its strongholds in Lebanon.

Lebanon's health ministry says at least 3,645 people have been killed since October 2023, when Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas.

The United Nations and others have repeatedly decried humanitarian conditions, particularly in northern Gaza, where Israel said Friday it had killed two commanders involved in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

In the call with Katz, Austin also discussed ongoing Israeli operations and reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad commitment to Israel's security," the Pentagon said.