Dozens killed, injured in RSF attack on villages in Sudan’s White Nile state
February 17, 2025 (EL QUTEINA) – Dozens of civilians were killed and injured on Monday in an attack launched by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on villages and the city of El Quteina in White Nile State, southern Sudan.
Villagers sent out distress calls through audio recordings that were widely circulated, pleading for help as health centres were overwhelmed with wounded people being treated on large trucks.
One resident likened the situation in the villages of El Quteina to “Judgment Day,” when “a person flees from his father, his mother, and his brother,” as RSF fighters on motorcycles spread out, shooting people in the streets and inside their homes.
The Nadaa Al-Wust platform said in a statement that at least 24 people were killed and others injured in attacks launched by the RSF on the villages of Al-Kadaris and Al-Khalwat in the El Quteina countryside in White Nile State.
It noted that the attacking forces deliberately targeted civilians directly, resulting in dozens of casualties, both dead and wounded, while the rest of the residents were forced to flee after looting all their money and belongings.
In recent days, the army has been able to gain control of a number of areas in the El Quteina locality and expel RSF forces from them.
The RSF withdrew from Al-Jazirah State to El Quteina, then to Jebel Aulia, south of the capital Khartoum, before returning to attack the city and its villages.
Social media sources close to the army reported that the armed forces had relieved Major General Sami al-Tayeb, the commander of the 18th Division in White Nile State, and assigned his deputy, Major General Jamal Juma, to the duties of the military base commander.
In a related context, a member of the emergency room in the Al-Kirel area north of El Quteina, Othman al-Basri, told Sudan Tribune that the number of “dead and wounded as a result of the RSF attack on the area during the past week reached 10 people, including 5 dead and 5 injured, in the areas of Al-Kirel, Al-Shakaba, Wad al-Habeel, and Dar al-Assad.”
He reported that the RSF kidnapped one of the sons of the Al-Kirel area who suffers from diabetes.
He pointed out that the RSF forced citizens to flee their areas and take refuge in safe areas, where children, women, and patients walked long distances on foot, estimated at about 40 kilometres, which further increased the suffering of citizens.
Many areas in White Nile State have been subjected to continuous violations by the RSF in recent times, including killing, kidnapping, and detention.