Wad An Nora massacre

Wad An Nora massacre
Part of War crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) and Aftermath of the battle of Wad Madani
Gezira State, Sudan
Location14°30′57″N 32°30′41″E / 14.51583°N 32.51139°E / 14.51583; 32.51139
Wad Al-Noora, Gezira State, Sudan
Date5 June 2024
05:00 GMT+2 –
Attack type
Massacre, Looting
Deaths150-200+
Injured200+
Perpetrator Rapid Support Forces
DefendersCivilians of Wad Al-Noora, Sudanese Air Force

The Wad Al-Noora massacre started at around 05:00 (GMT+2) on 5 June 2024, when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the village of Wad Al-Noora in Al-Jazira state twice, killing at least 100 civilians. The massacre followed after the RSF besieging and opening fire on the village.[1]

Background

This section is an excerpt from Sudanese civil war (2023–present).[edit]

Since April 2023, there has been a civil war in Sudan between two factions of the country's military government. The conflict involves the internationally recognized government controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and consisting of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Republican Guard; and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Hemedti, who leads the broader Janjaweed coalition. Smaller armed groups have taken part.[2] Fighting began on 15 April 2023 after a power struggle within the government that had taken power following the 2021 coup. As of 5 February 2025, the conflict has caused 12 million people to be forcibly displaced, 9 million internally, and 3.5 million have fled the country as refugees,[3][4] making it one of the largest displacement crises in recent history.[5]

Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan has endured chronic instability marked by 20 coup attempts, prolonged military rule, two civil wars and the Darfur genocide. The war erupted amid tensions over the integration of the RSF into the Sudanese Army following the 2021 coup, starting with RSF attacks on government sites in the capital Khartoum, and other cities. The conflict began with the Battle of Khartoum, and there has been fighting in the Darfur region.[6][7][8] The capital region was divided between the two factions, and al-Burhan relocated his government to Port Sudan. International efforts, including the 2023 Jeddah Declaration, failed to stop the fighting, while various rebel groups entered the war: the SPLM–North attacked the SAF in the south; the Tamazuj movement joined the RSF; and the SAF gained support from factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement and Justice and Equality Movement. By late 2023, the RSF controlled most of Darfur and advanced on Khartoum, taking over most of the capital, Kordofan and Gezira. The SAF regained momentum in 2024, making gains in Omdurman and retaking Khartoum by March 2025. Despite negotiations, no lasting ceasefire has been reached, and the war continues with severe humanitarian consequences and regional implications. In October 2025 the city of El Fasher fell, giving the RSF control over the SAF's last stronghold in Darfur. Additionally, a genocidal massacre is currently taking place within the city and began on 26 October, with 60,000 dead.[9] Other estimates, using satellite information, have been as high as 150,000 dead making this the biggest massacre in the 21st century.[10]

Famine is widespread. Sudan faces one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with 25 million people suffering from severe food insecurity.[11] Four million children are acutely malnourished, including 770,000 at imminent risk of death and famine had been confirmed in several regions.[12] There are extreme shortages of water, medicine and aid access, widespread hospital closures, disease outbreaks, mass displacement, looting of humanitarian supplies, and the near-collapse of education and infrastructure, leaving half the population in urgent need of assistance. The death toll of the war, including fatalities from violence, starvation and disease, is high; thousands remain missing or have been killed in targeted massacres, primarily attributed to the RSF and allied militias.[13] Sixty-one thousand people have died in Khartoum State alone, of which 26,000 were a direct result of the violence.[14] Sexual violence, committed on refugees and during looting, has been widespread.[15][16][17] UN under-secretary for humanitarian affairs Tom Fletcher has said that Darfur is the new "epicenter of human suffering in the world" due to the conflict.[18]

There have been calls for more aid, legal protections for humanitarian workers, refugee support and an end to international arms supplies to the RSF, particularly by the United Arab Emirates.[19][20][21][22][23] The US, UK, EU and Canada, imposed sanctions on individuals, companies and entities linked to the SAF and RSF for ceasefire violations and human rights abuses. The UAE has been found to have violated the sanctions, despite denials, shipping Chinese weapons to RSF rebels.[19] The RSF primarily funds its operations through gold exports to the UAE.[18] Many civilians in Darfur have been killed as part of the Masalit genocide.[24] On 7 January 2025, the U.S. said it had determined that the RSF and allied militias committed genocide.[25]

Massacre

Civilian Resistance Committees reported that after stationing at Al-Nala office on the outskirts of the village, the RSF documented themselves using heavy shelling, heavy artillery fire, dual cannons, and quadruple cannons on the village.[26] The Sudanese Air Force dispersed the RSF and forced them to retreat to Al-Ashra neighbourhood nearby, looting the village. After this, the RSF mobilized dozens of vehicles and returned to the outskirts of Wad Al-Noora to surround and siege the village.[27] After meeting strong resistance from villagers despite the mismatch in weapon capabilities, the militia entered the village through the hospital. They proceeded to violently loot cars, markets, and homes, cut off network access in the village, spread their forces along the tops of buildings mosques, and randomly targeted citizens with firepower, with most of them being unarmed. No Sudanese Armed Forces reinforcements arrived to the village after the second assault on it started.[28]

Aftermath

Videos shared by the Committees of Madani showed the burial of dozens of citizens in a public square.[1] Among the deceased included Sudan News Agency journalist Makkawi Muhammad Ahmed.[29] Finding the full number of casualties was delayed due to network outages in the village, with preliminary fatality counts gradually moving from 100 deaths to 200 deaths.[28][30]

Eyewitnesses to the attack claimed that the assailants would execute citizens who were already injured, and would target woman and children. The assault resulted in the forced displacement of all the surviving women and children in the village, many of them taking refuge in Al-Manaqil. Many of the survivors denounced the Sudanese Armed Forces for not sending in any reinforcements to defend the village during the second assault, despite many villagers requesting help.

The Rapid Support Forces justified the massacre on its official "X" account by claiming that the village held enemy Burhan and Mujahideen Brigades and that they were planning to attack their forces in the Jabal Awliya area in Khartoum.[30]

The Mashad Observatory for Human Rights strongly condemned the indiscriminate nature of the attacks and the resulting forced displacement of women and children as war crimes that violated human rights and international law. They called on the international community to speak out against the RSF, intervene to prevent further war crimes, and bring justice to those who were responsible.

The National Umma Party decried the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the RSF, and claimed that the assault represented a continuation of the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur. They warned the international community of the possible consequences of remaining silent and not holding the RSF accountable for their genocidal actions, rape, and forced displacement.

A football field in the village was converted into a cemetery for the victims.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "RSF commits massacre in Al-Jazirah village, leaving nearly 100 dead". Sudan Tribune. 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  2. ^ "Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening". BBC. 10 November 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  3. ^ "IOM Sudan Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Sudan Mobility Update (15)". reliefweb. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  4. ^ "Operational data portal: Sudan situation". United Nations Human Rights Council. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  5. ^ "UN: Sudan now faces world's largest displacement crisis". Middle East Monitor. 10 November 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Why Sudan's catastrophic war is the world's problem". The Economist. 29 August 2024. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  7. ^ "100 days of conflict in Sudan: A timeline". Al Jazeera. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  8. ^ Steinhauser, Gabriele (12 August 2024). "War Tears Apart Sudan's Capital City". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  9. ^ Staff, Al Jazeera. "RSF digging mass graves in Sudan's el-Fasher to 'clean up massacre': Expert". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  10. ^ Craze, Joshua (4 February 2026). "Inside Sudan's perpetual war". New Statesman. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Sudan faces the world's worst humanitarian crisis as second anniversary of war nears, UN says". AP News. 10 April 2025. Archived from the original on 11 April 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Sudan's children are suffering – this is how conflict is destroying their future". European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  13. ^ Akinwotu, Emmanuel (14 April 2025). "In Sudan, hundreds killed in attacks on famine-hit displacement camps". NPR. Retrieved 21 May 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  14. ^ Yibeltal, Kalkidan; Rukanga, Basillioh (14 November 2024). "Sudan death toll far higher than previously reported – study". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Sudan's RSF accused of 'sickening' sexual violence on women, girls: Report". Al Jazeera. 12 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Sudan civil war: One-year-olds among those raped, UN says". BBC. 4 March 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  17. ^ "Children as young as one reported among survivors of rape during Sudan's violent conflict". UNICEF. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  18. ^ a b Julien-Thomas, Arnaud (1 January 2026). "Sudan has now become the 'epicentre of human suffering'". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Sudan: Advanced Chinese weaponry provided by UAE identified in breach of arms embargo – new investigation". Amnesty International. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  20. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Sudanese Rapid Support Forces Procurement Director". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 8 February 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  21. ^ Gramer, Robbie; Malsin, Jared; Faucon, Benoit (28 October 2025). "Exclusive: How U.A.E. Arms Bolstered a Sudanese Militia Accused of Genocide". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  22. ^ Townsend, Mark (14 April 2025). "Leaked UN experts report raises fresh concerns over UAE's role in Sudan war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
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  25. ^ "Genocide Determination in Sudan and Imposing Accountability Measures". state.gov. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  26. ^ "ماذا حدث في ود النورة بولاية الجزيرة؟.. التفاصيل الكاملة" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  27. ^ Ghazal, Somoud (5 June 2024). "قوات الدعم السريع ترتكب مجزرة في ود النورة وسط السودان". The New Arab (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  28. ^ a b "ماذا حدث في ود النورة بولاية الجزيرة؟.. التفاصيل الكاملة" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  29. ^ "اغتالته ميليشيا التمرد..وكالة السودان للأنباء تنعي الزميل مكاوي محمد | نبض السودان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  30. ^ a b "إدانات واسعة لـ «الدعم السريع» ..ارتفاع ضحايا مجزرة «ود النورة» بولاية الجزيرة إلى حوالي «200» قتيلاً من المدنيين – صحيفة التغيير السودانية , اخبار السودان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  31. ^ "مجـ..ــزرة ود النورة.. تفاصيل لا تستطيع النظر اليها - الزاوية نت" (in Arabic). 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
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