Hundreds missing in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state after RSF attack

October 22, 2024 (TAMBUL) – Hundreds of people are missing and many have fled their homes in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked villages in retaliation for a local commander’s defection to the army, residents said on Tuesday.

The attacks follow the defection of Abu Aqla Kikal, sector commander in Al Jazirah, who joined the army last Sunday.

“The situation is catastrophic,” one resident who fled Tambul told Sudan Tribune, describing waves of people heading east and northeast. “Dozens of families have lost contact with each other.”

Residents said the RSF confiscated satellite phones, cutting off communication in the area.

The Sudanese army, backed by allied tribal groups, had briefly entered Tambul before an RSF counter-attack killed the army unit’s commander and forced them to withdraw.

The Resistance Committees of Rufaa, 24 km from Tambul, said in a statement that the RSF had looted homes in reprisal attacks.

A number of wounded people have arrived at the Halfa Al-Gadida hospital, and activists have put out calls on social media for blood donations.