At Least 31 Killed as RSF Launches New Attack on Sennar, in Southeast Sudan

At least 31 people were killed and over 100 injured after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a renewed assault on Sennar in southeastern Sudan on Sunday, according to a Sudan-based legal advocacy group.

Emergency Lawyers, which has urged the United Nations to impose sanctions on the warring factions, reported Monday that RSF forces targeted multiple locations in the city, including the main market, with artillery fire.

The RSF, which evolved from the Janjaweed militias involved in the Darfur conflict of the early 2000s, has been engaged in an armed rebellion against Sudan’s internationally recognized government since April 2023.

The group also reported that Sudan’s military carried out airstrikes in the nearby town of al-Souki, resulting in the deaths of at least four civilians.

While the RSF controls much of Sennar and approximately half of Sudan, their progress in the southeast has been slowed by heavy rains, which have complicated their movements. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that recent flooding caused by extreme weather has killed at least 69 people in recent weeks.

The conflict between the RSF and Sudan’s military has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. According to the latest UN estimates, more than 10 million people have been displaced and tens of thousands killed since fighting broke out in April 2023. Both sides are accused of widespread human rights violations, including war crimes.