A recent attack by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on Wad al-Noura village has killed at least 100 people and injured dozens, according to regional officials.
Social media posts by Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minawi say women, children and the elderly were among victims of the attack, the latest in ongoing clashes between RSF fighters and the country's regular army over the past 14 months. The grassroots Madani Resistance Committee, a pro-democracy organization that monitors attacks in the region, said RSF fighters used heavy artillery in Wednesday morning's two-stage assault, which it called an act of genocide.
The committee, which said pleas for rescue by Sudan's armed forces went unheeded, accused RSF troops of looting Wad al-Noura throughout the attack, forcing civilians, including women and children, to take refuge in the nearby village of Managil.
Sudan's army said Thursday that it will deliver a "harsh response" to the attack.
Alex DeWaal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, described it as a routine practice, explaining that RSF fighters tax locals and steal food to the point of starvation in villages they overrun.
"The Sudan Armed Forces, which are also the internationally recognized government, are cutting off all material supplies to areas under RSF control, including humanitarian aid, hoping to reduce the RSF's capabilities through starvation," DeWaal told VOA. "The logics of war are leading relentlessly to famine."
Sudan crisis 'neglected'
Wednesday's attack coincided with recent United Nations warnings that Sudan is faced with the "looming threat of famine" as violence intensifies.
"The situation in Sudan is not so much forgotten as neglected," said Michael Dunford, regional director for the U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) in Eastern Africa, in a Thursday press release. "It is already the largest displacement crisis in the world, and it has the potential to become the world's largest hunger crisis."
The U.N. organization said people are resorting to eating grass and wild leaves to survive, which poses especially high risks for children.
"Malnutrition among children in Sudan has also hit shocking levels, leaving an entire generation at risk," the statement said. "Children are already dying of malnutrition-related causes."
WFP increases its support
The WFP is boosting its assistance in Sudan, expanding its cash support to reach 1.2 million people in 12 states, which will aid local food producers and markets. The organization says it is also increasing the food and money it gives to 2 million people across more than 40 WFP-identified hunger hotspots.
According to The Associated Press, RSF forces posted statements late Wednesday alleging they carried out Wednesday's raid because Sudan's military had planned to attack its troops in Jabal al-Awliya.
The AP, which could not verify the allegation, also reported on RSF claims that its fighters clashed with Sudanese armed forces while attacking three camps west, north and south of Wad-al Noura.
More than 14,000 people have been killed, thousands have been wounded, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced since fighting began in April 2023.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
