The Wad Al-Noora massacre started at around 05:00 (GMT+2) on 5 June 2024, when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the village of

Wad Al-Noora Wad An Nora ( ar, ود النورة) is a village in Al Jazirah State, central Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), ...

in Al-Jazira state twice, killing at least 100 civilians. The massacre followed after the RSF sieged and opened fire on the village.

Background

Massacre

Civilian Resistance Committees reported 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. The

Sudanese Air Force The Sudanese Air Force ( ar, القوّات الجوّيّة السودانيّة, Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya As-Sudaniya) is the air force operated by the Republic of the Sudan. As such it is part of the Sudanese Armed Forces. History The Sudanese A ...

dispersed the RSF and forced them to retreat to Al-Ashra neighbourhood 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. 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. No Sudanese Armed Forces reinforcements arrived to the village after the second assault on it started.

Aftermath

Videos shared by the Committees of Madani showed the burial of dozens of citizens in a public square. Among the deceased included Sudan News Agency journalist Makkawi Muhammad Ahmed. 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. 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 in Al-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 and

Mujahideen Brigades ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

and that they were planning to attack their forces in the

Jabal Awliya Jabal Awliya (, Jabal al Awliyā', Jebel Aulia, Gebel Aulia) is a village in the north-central part of Sudan, about south of Khartoum. Nearby is the Jebel Aulia Dam, built in 1937 by the British for the Egyptian government. Jabal Awliya became a ...

area in Khartoum. 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. The National Umma Party decried the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the RSF, and claimed that the assault represented a continuation of the ethnic cleansing and genocide 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.

References

{{Sudanese civil war (2023–present) 2024 airstrikes Attacks on hospitals in Sudan Massacres in 2024 June 2024 events in Sudan War crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) Hospital bombings in Africa Airstrikes conducted by Sudan 21st-century mass murder in Sudan 2024 building bombings Attacks on electrical infrastructure June 2024 crimes in Africa Gezira State Massacres in Sudan Looting in Africa Marketplace attacks in Africa

Background

Massacre

Aftermath

See also

References