XWarning: This text accommodates particulars some readers might discover distressing.
For 40-year-old farmer Ali Ibrahim, the nightmare started within the late afternoon on 5 June, with the sound of heavy weapons.
“We had by no means seen such shelling since we had been younger,” he recollects. “The bombardment lasted for 4 hours, with homes destroyed, screaming kids – girls and the aged had been helpless to flee.”
Not less than 100 civilians had been killed that day within the assault on the Sudanese village of Wad al-Nourah, in accordance with estimates by volunteers of the native resistance committee.
Mr Ibrahim says the villagers had been unarmed: ”We’re easy farmers. We have by no means carried weapons. We’ve got no enemies. We’re simply residents making an attempt to guard our lives.”
XThe BBC has heard testimonies from a number of survivors who accuse armed males from the Speedy Assist Forces (RSF) – the paramilitary group preventing the Sudanese military – of opening fireplace and storming the village in two successive assaults, utilizing heavy weaponry. Dozens of residents had been killed or injured.
The alleged variety of deaths on this incident would make it one of many deadliest incidents involving civilians for the reason that battle between the military and the RSF started in April 2023.
The BBC managed to talk to a number of survivors of the Wad al-Nourah assault, who’re presently receiving remedy on the Al Managil authorities hospital the place they had been transferred for remedy.
Reporters had been additionally in a position to analyse the movies they shared.
The hospital is situated about 80km (50 miles) from the village, and plenty of survivors arrived there hours after the assault. In accordance with their testimonies, the RSF forces additionally tried to forestall them leaving the village, and looted most of their autos.
After enduring “hours of terror” in the course of the bombardment, adopted by frantic makes an attempt to discover a method to transport the wounded and bury these killed by the shelling, the residents had been “shocked” by a second large RSF assault on their village early the following morning, one of many survivors on the hospital instructed the BBC.
“They entered our home, beat me and my siblings, and requested, ‘the place is the gold?’. My little sister was scared and instructed my mom to provide them the gold.”
This account is according to these of different survivors, all of whom confirmed RSF forces had “attacked the village from three instructions, entered houses, killed civilians, and looted valuables, together with gold, automobiles, and saved agricultural merchandise”.
‘They killed my brother’
Hamad Suleiman, a 42-year-old retail dealer, stated armed RSF fighters entered his brother’s home and started taking pictures with out warning.
“I went to my brother’s home and located them there… They shot my brother and nephew useless, and one other nephew was injured and is right here with me within the hospital.”
He says he tried to purpose with the RSF fighters and requested why that they had killed his household.
“I attempted to speak to them, they usually instructed me to recite the Shahada [The Islamic profession of faith that is recited when the feeling of death is near]. They shot me within the hand and fled… they looted all of the automobiles.
“I used to be wounded and could not discover a approach out for hours.”
The BBC contacted the RSF for his or her response to the survivors’ testimonies, and the accusations of assaults, killings, looting and intimidation. We had obtained no reply by the point of this report’s publication.
RSF spokesperson Al-Fateh Qurashi issued a video assertion on X, previously often known as Twitter, a day after the incident – denying their forces had focused civilians.
He said that the forces had engaged with parts of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Intelligence – also called ‘Al Mustanfaron’ – a militia carrying small weapons and aligned with the SAF, who had been within the village on the time of the assault.
The BBC’s fact-finding staff analysed movies supplied by the RSF, which they claimed depicted areas and trenches utilized by Al Mustanfaron in Wad al-Nourah. The evaluation revealed these areas had been all located exterior the village, not inside it.
The evaluation additionally confirmed that members of the RSF opened fireplace in the direction of the village, utilizing heavy weapons from a few mile away.
Wad al-Nourah is just like a whole bunch of villages scattered throughout Gezira state. Most of its residents work in agriculture and commerce, and it has a small weekly market the place merchants from neighbouring villages come to purchase and promote livestock and crops.
The RSF took management of Gezira state, to the south of the capital, Khartoum, in December 2023, and has been accused of finishing up quite a few abuses towards civilians there – which it repeatedly denies.
Gezira state is without doubt one of the areas most affected by the battle, with the preventing spreading there early on within the battle. It additionally grew to become a refuge for 1000’s of displaced folks fleeing Khartoum and Darfur.
For the reason that RSF took management of the realm on the finish of final 12 months, one village after one other has suffered acts of violence.
The RSF proceed to disclaim accusations of battle crimes reminiscent of killing, looting, rape and burning villages – as a substitute pointing the finger at what they name “unruly” folks.
1000’s of individuals have died and 10 million have been compelled to flee their houses since April final 12 months, when Sudan was thrown into disarray after its military and a strong paramilitary group started a vicious battle for energy.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, has referred to as for a complete and clear investigation to uncover the circumstances of the Wad al-Nourah assault.
The villagers, who misplaced dozens of family members, hope an investigation committee shall be established, and that the perpetrators shall be held accountable – quite than escaping punishment as has occurred prior to now in Sudan.
Extra reporting by Abdelrahman Abutaleb and Richard Irvine-Brown
