The majority of the residents of the village of Wad al-Nura, some 40km away from the city of AlQurashi 24, Al Jazirah state, Sudan, hails from the al-Kawahla Hassanat tribe. The village is one of the smallest administrative units in terms of number of villages and population density in AlQurashi24.
A popular resistance confronted the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia members after they attacked the area multiple times using civilian vehicles. This forced the militia to launch a ferocious, retaliatory attack on 6th May 2024, using SPG9, dual, and DShK machine guns to breach the defences of the popular resistance, which was positioned approximately 6km west of the city. Ali Kabashi, a notorious rebel commander, was among the attackers.
Once in the area, the rebel RSF stole food, medicine and 20+ cars, bringing them to the Gettina area. They killed all the resistance youth and hospital doctors. All the 150+ victims were interred in the district square. Over 100 wounded were taken to the city of Manakil for treatment.
Fearing that the community might be attacked again, the majority of the villagers evacuated to other communities, primarily to the al-Qurashi region.
Internal reactions
• By the RSF militia:
To justify their attack on Wad al-Nura, the rebel RSF militia claimed the Mujahideen Brigades had organised sizable troops in West, South and North camps to launch an assault on the rebel forces located in Jabal Awlia. It attacked camps including soldiers from the army, the intelligence agency et al precisely at 5 on Wednesday morning.
• By the popular resistance:
The leader of the resistance, Yusuf Izzat, stated for his part that the longer the war the less political and moral justification to it. He further stated that no military or political party would be able to assert its authority through the war and that it was a moral and national obligation to them to adopt the position that ending both the war and social suffering is the right thing to do. This is in line with their goal of putting an end to all wars and establishing a state based on just principles that bring about peace for all.
• By political parties and organisations:
Coordination-body of the Democratic & Civil Force (TAGADOM): Official coordination spokesman Bakri Al-Jak denounced the grave abuses perpetrated by the RSF militia against civilians in Al-Jazirah villages, where over 100 people lost their lives. He also urged the combatants to avoid civilian areas and to cease arming and recruiting them in all areas of conflict.
Finally, he reiterated the demand for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire and the beginning of measures to protect civilians, beginning with the withdrawal of the parties’ forces from cities and villages and engaging in talks to find a comprehensive solution to end the conflict.
Sudanese Congress Party: They urged a stop to the abuses and a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the war in a statement that denounced the slaughter and labelled it a horrible crime.
Umma National Party: Condemning the slaughter as a war crime and holding the rebel Rapid Support militia entirely accountable, it called on human rights groups to denounce those acts.
Popular Congress Party: The group led by Dr Amin Mahmoud denounced the world’s silence on the crimes committed by the Janjaweed in their slaughter of the Sudanese people and demanded readiness and assistance for the Armed Forces as well as the vulnerable.
Unionist Alliance Party: They denounced the attack, citing breach of civilian protection limitations during hostilities, and demanded that the Security Council, the UN, and regional and international tribunals establish an impartial fact-finding committee.
Future Movement for Reform & Development: What transpired in Wad al-Nura’s village is comparable to retaliatory campaigns, and obviously that is terrorism.
National Movement for Building and Development: They said words like denunciation, condemnation, and condemnation are too soft and insufficient to describe what the tyrants are doing. They also called for self-defence and the taking-up of arms.
Revolutionary Charter for Establishing People’s Power: They underlined the public disagreement with the militia’s claim of military operations taking place in Wad al-Nura hamlet, and appealed to the world community to denounce the Janjaweed.
National Current: They likened the events in Wad Al-Nura hamlet to war crime and urged Sudanese political forces to denounce the militia and further work with human rights groups to besiege them.
Victory of Sharia and the Rule of law: They urged the military chiefs to provide weapons to the populace, viewing any hold-up as a grave betrayal.
Popular Resistance: They acknowledged the Armed Forces’ efforts and sacrifices and urged them to achieve more. They said what happened in Wad al-Nura had turned out to boost the popular resistance and encourage young people to face the militia’s threat. To them, armed popular resistance and uprising remain the only option.
Sudanese Islamic Movement: They urge all Sudanese to support the Armed Forces, hone their resolve, arm the populace’s resistance, and use an iron hand.
Republican Sudan Party: They are of view that no spinning can whitewash this criminal act that took place in Wad al-Nura. Some party leaders opine that what happened in the village was a battle between the RSF and popular resistance and had nothing to do with unarmed homeowners.
External reactions
• By international entities and organisations:
– The United Nations Secretariat: On 6th June 2024, spokesman Stephane de Garrick denounced the Rapid Support Forces militia’s attack on a Sudanese village, resulting in over 100 fatalities. He requested abstinence from actions posing threats to civilians and infrastructure, expressed concern for the suffering caused by the conflict, called for firearm silence, and reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to ending the conflict.
– Ms Clementine Koita, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, emphasised the importance of respecting rules in wars and avoiding armed clashes and explosive weapons in densely-populated areas. She urged taking reasonable precautions to protect civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian laws and the Jeddah pulpit’s promises, and underscored the need for civilians to never be a target.
– Ms Catherine Russell, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), expressed her shock at the news that the attack on the community of Wad al-Nura resulted in at least 35 child deaths and over 20 injuries.
– The High Commissioner for Human Rights demanded that those responsible for the unlawful killing be held accountable and urged the rebel Rapid Support militia and its supporters to launch an immediate, independent investigation into the incident in compliance with their duties under international humanitarian law.
– The African Union: Mr Moussa Faki, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, denounced the massacre that occurred on July 6, 2024, and expressed his concern over the worsening conditions in Sudan, which could result in starvation in some areas of the nation. He also urged the international community to end the war definitively, without mentioning the Rapid Support Forces militia.
– The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Dr Ahmed Aboul Gheit, sent his condolences to the families of the deceased and stated that the League supports efforts to put an end to the strife in Sudan in a statement released on June 6, 2024, denouncing the slaughter in the hamlet of Wad al-Nura.
– Egyptian Al-Ahram Centre: According to Dr Amani Tawil, head of the African programme at the Al-Ahram Centre for Strategic Political Studies, the crime of Wad al-Nura will not be tolerated and will ultimately affect the political landscape inside nations as well as their respective stances.
• Governments’ reactions abroad:
– The United States of America: On July 6, 2024, the US Department of State released a statement denouncing the Rapid Support Forces militia’s attacks on the village of Wad al-Nura, which left several people injured and more than one hundred persons dead. The statement also demanded that the rebel militia act immediately to put an end to those attacks and show prompt accountability by identifying and eliminating those who had killed civilians.
The statement emphasised the devastating impact of the ongoing war on civilian lives, urging for an immediate end to humanitarian aid obstruction and a return to civilian rule. It also urged the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces to protect civilians and hold those responsible for war crimes accountable.
– The British Foreign Ministry: Mr David Cameron condemned the horrifying attack by the Rapid Support Forces on innocent people in the village of Wad al-Nura and called on them to cease their actions via a tweet on the X platform.
– The US House of Representatives: Ms Sarah Jacobs, a US House of Representatives member, emphasised that the US must use its power to convince the United Arab Emirates to cease supporting the Rapid Support Forces to end the conflict in Sudan.
– The UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Mr Ramadan Al-Amamra, underscored the need to keep up efforts to bring about peace in Sudan and mentioned the UN’s backing of global mediation initiatives.
– Both the African Union and the Arab League denounced the slaughter without naming the perpetrators, but the official spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General and the US State Department issued news releases emphasizing their condemnation of the rebel Rapid Support militia.
Article by the Embassy of Sudan in Accra