Twelve people have been killed in artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Darfur state in western Sudan, the Resistance Committees, a pro-democracy activist group, said on Saturday.
The group said in a "preliminary report" that "12 civilians were killed and five others injured as a result of RSF shelling today in the area of Breidek and neighbouring villages north of Kutum town in North Darfur state".
Most of Darfur, which witnessed a bloody conflict and ethnic cleansing nearly 20 years ago, is under the control of the RSF, except for parts of North Darfur state.
Activists accused the RSF of carrying out a "massacre" and issued a statement with the names of the victims, saying the militia had "captured three people", including a doctor.
Earlier on Saturday, eyewitnesses told Agence France-Presse that the RSF shelled the town of El Fasher from three directions: east, south and south-east.
In the same area, Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minawi said the RSF had completely burned down 20 villages.
"What is happening in the Buraidah area is a crime that will be added to the list of crimes against humanity," he wrote on his Facebook account, adding that "the people of Buraidah, who are defenceless citizens, are being subjected to fierce attacks by militias with clear ethnic motives. The entire area has been desecrated, with more than 20 villages burned and properties looted".
Fighting broke out in Sudan in mid-April 2023 between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by his ally and former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti.
The war has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than 11 million people, including 3.1 million who have fled the country, according to the International Organisation for Migration. It has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, according to the United Nations.
Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes by deliberately targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid.
In Al-Jazeera governorate (central), where deadly attacks last month killed at least 200 people according to an Agence France-Presse count, a medical source told Agence France-Presse that the Rapid Support Forces looted medical equipment from the hospital in the village of Al-Tandab, about 15 kilometres east of the town of Tamboul, northeast of the governorate capital Madani.
"The Rapid Support Forces looted all the equipment in Al-Tandab hospital," said the medical source, who requested anonymity.
"They even took the solar panels that the hospital uses to generate electricity," he added. The village has been one of the main entry points for people fleeing the violence in Al-Jazeera State, where the United Nations says some 120,000 people have been displaced by the Rapid Support Forces attacks.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia denounced the "violation of international law and the principle of the protection of civilians" as a result of the escalation of violence in Al-Jazeera State.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed "the concern of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the continuation of fighting in brotherly Sudan and the escalation of violence that has affected civilians, including women and children".
It added that the Kingdom "condemns in this regard what happened recently in the eastern part of the Al-Jazeera State, which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries among civilians".
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