Activists accuse Sudan’s RSF of Omdurman massacre; paramilitary group denies
April 27, 2025 (OMDURMAN) – At least 31 people were shot dead in Sudan’s city of Omdurman on Sunday, activists and medical sources said, blaming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the killings, which the RSF denied, disputing the location of the incident.
The killings occurred in or near the Al-Salha area, south of Omdurman, described by activists as one of the last RSF strongholds in the city’s southern sector, where fighters reportedly regrouped after leaving Khartoum amid Sudan’s year-long civil war.
The Sudan Doctors Network, in a statement, accused an RSF force of committing a “mass massacre” including “field execution” of 31 people, among them minors, in Al-Salha. It called the incident the “largest documented mass killing crime” in the area and said the victims were accused of affiliation with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The network condemned killings in RSF-controlled areas, deemed the executions war crimes and crimes against humanity, and called for international action to protect civilians and open safe corridors from Al-Salha. It urged pressure on RSF leaders to halt abuses.
A graphic video clip, allegedly circulated by RSF elements, showed bodies piled on a roadside as perpetrators continued shooting. Tires were placed on bodies, appearing to prepare for burning, according to descriptions of the video seen by activists and cited in reports.
An Al-Salha Area Emergency Committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Sudan Tribune the RSF had committed widespread abuses since late March, closing markets and health facilities, raising famine fears. He accused the RSF of arresting citizens for allegedly being loyal to the SAF.
Separately, the Emergency Lawyers group condemned the “brutal crime,” holding the RSF legally and criminally responsible for what it called summary executions and wilful killing of civilians. The group demanded measures to prevent impunity, citing the video as proof of the “deliberate and systematic nature” of the violations and asserting the killings were grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
Yasir Arman, a leading figure in the civilian pro-democracy coalition Smoud, also condemned the violence. In an opinion piece shared Sunday, he labelled the Al-Salha killings a “war crime that will not expire with time and is documented… by the perpetrators themselves,” while also noting previous condemnations of SAF aerial bombardments as war crimes.
The RSF, in a statement late Sunday, denied its forces were involved. Its spokesperson said individuals in the video were “not affiliated” with the RSF and claimed the events occurred in the Al-Mohandiseen area, not Al-Salha as reported by others.
The RSF statement described Al-Mohandiseen as an “area of operational overlap” and accused SAF-allied forces (termed “Burhan’s militias”) of rights violations. The RSF called for verification of facts through “neutral and independent investigations” before assigning blame and reaffirmed its commitment to International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
The incident and conflicting reports come amid significant ground advances reported by the SAF aimed at capturing remaining RSF strongholds in Omdurman, part of the devastating conflict between the army and the RSF that erupted in April 2023.