At Least 28 Dead in Sudanese Paramilitary Raid in Darfur. Khartoum, Sudan — At least 28 people have been killed and 39 others injured, including 10 women, following a brutal raid by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the town of Misteriha, North Darfur State, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, a group that monitors violence in the region.
The attack, which also destroyed the town’s sole health center, left medical personnel among the victims, with one healthcare worker detained and still missing.
These attacks are described by the Sudan Doctors Network as a “fully fledged crime and a blatant violation of all humanitarian and international laws that criminalize attacks against civilians. ” The incident follows a United Nations investigation last week that concluded the RSF committed acts of genocide against non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur.
The RSF, formed from the Janjaweed militia, has been a central player in the conflict in Darfur.
The militia’s leader, Musa Hilal, despite being from the Arab Rizeigat ethnic group that forms the RSF’s tribal base, has expressed support for Sudan’s government.
The recent drone strike on Hilal’s guesthouse and the subsequent offensive by the RSF indicate a further escalation in the conflict. Darfur, an area roughly the size of France, is home to numerous armed groups, many organized along ethnic lines.
The region has been a theater of conflict since April 2023, when fighting between the RSF and Sudan’s regular army intensified, devastating the country, particularly in Darfur.
The war has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 11 million people, creating what is now the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.
