After rights groups accused the Sudanese army and affiliated militias of killing 13 people, including two children, the army denied on Tuesday that it was involved in attacks against civilians in the central state of Al-Jazira.
The attacks in Um Al-Qura in eastern Al-Jazira started last week as the army moved across the state, according to the Emergency Lawyers, who have been recording violations of human rights during the 20-month conflict between the army and opposing paramilitaries.
After controlling Al-Jazira since December 2023, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were forced out of the state capital, Wad Madani, by the military on Saturday.
The lawyers’ group on Monday accused the army and allied militias of detaining “a number of civilians, including women”, in what they described as a part of campaigns targeting ethnic and regional communities accused of collaborating with the RSF.
They said that the abuses included “extrajudicial killing… kidnapping as well as physical and psychological humiliation and torture”.
The RSF and the army have both been charged with war crimes, such as indiscriminately shelling residential areas and attacking civilians.
Although the RSF has gained notoriety for alleged ethnic atrocities, which prompted the United States to accuse it of genocide last week, there have also been accusations of ethnically motivated attacks on civilians in regions under army control.
Tom Perriello, the US special envoy for Sudan, called the attacks “appalling” on Tuesday.
On the social networking platform X, he stated that the army “and associated militias must immediately take action to investigate and hold those responsible for such horrors accountable.”
The army on Tuesday attributed the attacks to “individual violations” and pledged to hold perpetrators to account.
It also accused unnamed groups of exploiting the incidents to blame the military while ignoring what it said were “ongoing and horrific war crimes” committed by the RSF.
*
Email *
Website
