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Wad An Nora massacre

Coordinates:14°30′57″N32°30′41″E/ 14.51583°N 32.51139°E/14.51583; 32.51139
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Wad An Nora massacre
Part ofWar crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present)andAftermath of the battle of Wad Madani
Gezira State, Sudan
LocationWad Al-Noora,Gezira State,Sudan
Coordinates14°30′57″N32°30′41″E/ 14.51583°N 32.51139°E/14.51583; 32.51139
Date5 June 2024
05:00 GMT+2 –
Attack type
Massacre, Looting
Deaths150-200+
Injured200+
PerpetratorRapid Support Forces
DefendersCivilians ofWad Al-Noora,Sudanese Air Force

TheWad Al-Noora massacrestarted at around 05:00 (GMT+2) on 5 June 2024, when theRapid Support Forces(RSF) attacked the village ofWad Al-NoorainAl-Jazirastate twice, killing at least 100 civilians. The massacre followed after the RSFsiegedand opened fire on the village.[1]

Background

[edit]
This section is an excerpt fromSudanese civil war (2023–present).[edit]

Acivil warbetween two major rival factions of themilitarygovernment ofSudan,theSudanese Armed Forces(SAF) underAbdel Fattah al-Burhanand the paramilitaryRapid Support Forces(RSF) and its allies (collectively theJanjaweedcoalition) under the Janjaweed leaderHemedti,began duringRamadanon 15 April 2023.[2]Three minor (neutral) factions have participated in the fighting:Darfur Joint Protection Force,SLM (al-Nur)underAbdul Wahid al-Nur,andSPLM-NunderAbdelaziz al-Hilu.Fighting has been concentratedaround the capital cityofKhartoum(largest and initial battle of the war) and theDarfurregion.[3][4]As of 14 November 2024, at least 61,000 people had been killed inKhartoum Statealone, of which 26,000 were a direct result of the violence.[5]As of 5 July 2024, over 7.7 million were internally displaced and more than 2.1 million others had fled the country as refugees,[6][7]and many civilians inDarfurhave been reported dead as part of theMasalit massacres.[8]

The war began with attacks by the RSF on government sites as airstrikes, artillery, and gunfire were reported across Sudan. The cities of Khartoum andOmdurmanwere divided between the two warring factions, with al-Burhan relocating his government toPort Sudanas RSF forces captured most of Khartoum's government buildings. Attempts by international powers to negotiate a ceasefire culminated in theTreaty of Jeddahin May 2023, which failed to stop the fighting and was ultimately abandoned.[9]

Over the next few months, a stalemate occurred, during which the two sides were joined by rebel groups who had previously fought against Sudan's government. By mid-November, theMinni MinnawiandMustafa Tambourfactions of theSudan Liberation Movementofficially joined the war in support of the SAF, alongside theJustice and Equality Movement(JEM).[10][11]In contrast, theTamazujmovement joined forces with the RSF, while theAbdelaziz al-Hilufaction of theSudan People's Liberation Movement–Northattacked SAF positions in the south of the country.[12][13][14]

Starting in October 2023, momentum began to swing toward the RSF, as the paramilitary defeated army forces in Darfur and made gains inKhartoum State,Kordofan,andGezira State.Since February 2024, the SAF has made gains in Omdurman. Since June 2024, the RSF has made gains inSennar State.Further negotiations between the warring sides have produced no significant results, while many countries have provided military or political support for either al-Burhan or Hemedti.[15][16]

As of September 2024, the SAF has made notable gains inKhartoumandKhartoum North(alternatively referred to as Bahri).[17]

Massacre

[edit]

Civilian Resistance Committeesreported that after stationing at Al-Nala office on the outskirts of the village, the RSF documented themselves using heavy shelling, heavy artillery fire, dual cannons, and quadruple cannons on the village.[18]TheSudanese Air Forcedispersed the RSF and forced them to retreat toAl-Ashraneighbourhood nearby, looting the village. After this, the RSF mobilized dozens of vehicles and returned to the outskirts of Wad Al-Noora to surround and siege the village.[19]After meeting strong resistance from villagers despite the mismatch in weapon capabilities, the militia entered the village through the hospital. They proceeded to violently loot cars, markets, and homes, cut off network access in the village, spread their forces along the tops of buildings mosques, and randomly targeted citizens with firepower, with most of them being unarmed. NoSudanese Armed Forcesreinforcements arrived to the village after the second assault on it started.[20]

Aftermath

[edit]

Videos shared by the Committees of Madani showed the burial of dozens of citizens in a public square.[1]Among the deceased includedSudan News Agencyjournalist Makkawi Muhammad Ahmed.[21]Finding the full number of casualties was delayed due to network outages in the village, with preliminary fatality counts gradually moving from 100 deaths to 200 deaths.[20][22]

Eyewitnesses to the attack claimed that the assailants would execute citizens who were already injured, and would target woman and children. The assault resulted in the forced displacement of all the surviving women and children in the village, many of them taking refuge inAl-Manaqil.Many of the survivors denounced the Sudanese Armed Forces for not sending in any reinforcements to defend the village during the second assault, despite many villagers requesting help.

The Rapid Support Forces justified the massacre on its official "X"account by claiming that the village held enemy Burhan andMujahideen Brigadesand that they were planning to attack their forces in theJabal Awliyaarea inKhartoum.[22]

The Mashad Observatory for Human Rights strongly condemned the indiscriminate nature of the attacks and the resulting forced displacement of women and children as war crimes that violated human rights and international law. They called on the international community to speak out against the RSF, intervene to prevent further war crimes, and bring justice to those who were responsible.

TheNational Umma Partydecried the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the RSF, and claimed that the assault represented a continuation of the ethnic cleansing andgenocide in Darfur.They warned the international community of the possible consequences of remaining silent and not holding the RSF accountable for their genocidal actions, rape, and forced displacement.

A football field in the village was converted into a cemetery for the victims.[23]

References

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  1. ^ab"RSF commits massacre in Al-Jazirah village, leaving nearly 100 dead".Sudan Tribune.2024-06-05.Retrieved2024-06-05.
  2. ^"Why Sudan's catastrophic war is the world's problem".The Economist.29 August 2024.Retrieved29 August2024.
  3. ^"100 days of conflict in Sudan: A timeline".Al Jazeera. 24 July 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 28 September 2023.Retrieved28 September2023.
  4. ^Steinhauser, Gabriele (12 August 2024)."War Tears Apart Sudan's Capital City".The Wall Street Journal.Retrieved13 August2024.
  5. ^Yibeltal, Kalkidan; Rukanga, Basillioh (14 November 2024)."Sudan death toll far higher than previously reported - study".BBC News.BBC.Retrieved15 November2024.
  6. ^"Sudan Situation: UNHCR External Update #68, 28 June – 4 July 2024".reliefweb.5 July 2024.Retrieved6 July2024.
  7. ^"IOM Sudan Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Sudan Mobility Update (2) Publication Date: 11 June 2024".reliefweb.11 June 2024.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2024.Retrieved12 June2024.
  8. ^"Genocide returns to Darfur".The Economist.ISSN0013-0613.Archivedfrom the original on 10 November 2023.Retrieved11 November2023.
  9. ^"After one year of war, Sudan is a failing state".The Economist.2024-04-15.ISSN0013-0613.Archivedfrom the original on 17 April 2024.Retrieved2024-04-16.
  10. ^"SLM faction joins Sudanese army against RSF in Darfur".Sudan Tribune.1 August 2023. Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2023.Retrieved2 August2023.
  11. ^"Key Darfur groups join Sudanese army in its war against RSF paramilitary forces".16 November 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 18 November 2023.Retrieved16 November2023.
  12. ^"South Kordofan residents flee as Sudan war escalates".al-Arabiya.23 June 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 30 June 2023.Retrieved23 June2023.
  13. ^"Battle For Key Police Base Kills At Least 14 Sudan Civilians".Barron's.26 June 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 27 June 2023.Retrieved27 June2023.
  14. ^"Tamazuj group aligns with RSF in Sudan's ongoing war".Sudan Tribune.17 August 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 20 October 2023.Retrieved18 August2023.
  15. ^Abdelaziz, Khalid; Eltahir, Nafisar (6 December 2023)."Sudanese warring parties dig in as Jeddah talks falter again".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2023.Retrieved11 December2023.
  16. ^Ahmadi, Ali Abbas (18 April 2023)."Who are the major international actors involved in Sudan's violence?".The New Arab.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2023.Retrieved11 December2023.
  17. ^"Sudan war: Army launches major attack on Khartoum against RSF".BBC News.Retrieved2024-10-05.
  18. ^"ماذا حدث في ود النورة بولاية الجزيرة؟.. التفاصيل الكاملة"(in Arabic).Retrieved2024-06-05.
  19. ^Ghazal, Somoud (5 June 2024)."قوات الدعم السريع ترتكب مجزرة في ود النورة وسط السودان".The New Arab(in Arabic).Retrieved2024-06-05.
  20. ^ab"ماذا حدث في ود النورة بولاية الجزيرة؟.. التفاصيل الكاملة"(in Arabic).Retrieved2024-06-05.
  21. ^"اغتالته ميليشيا التمرد..وكالة السودان للأنباء تنعي الزميل مكاوي محمد | نبض السودان"(in Arabic).Retrieved2024-06-05.
  22. ^ab"إدانات واسعة لـ «الدعم السريع»..ارتفاع ضحايا مجزرة «ود النورة» بولاية الجزيرة إلى حوالي «200» قتيلاً من المدنيين – صحيفة التغيير السودانية, اخبار السودان"(in Arabic).Retrieved2024-06-06.
  23. ^"مجـ..ــزرة ود النورة.. تفاصيل لا تستطيع النظر اليها - الزاوية نت"(in Arabic). 2024-06-05.Retrieved2024-06-05.
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