RIYADH: Paramilitary fighters in Sudan killed at least 80 people in an attack on a village while their delegates were in Switzerland holding talks on how to end the country’s 16-month civil war.
Witnesses said the Rapid Support Forces initially faced resistance from villagers in Jalgini in Sennar state. “They opened fire, torching homes and killing numerous people,” one man said. “On Friday, some bodies were still strewn on the street.”
Jalgini’s medical centre said: “We received 55 dead and dozens of wounded at the hospital on Thursday, and 25 of them died on Friday, bringing the death toll to 80.”
The war between Sudan’s regular army led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and paramilitaries led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has killed an estimated 150,000 people, displaced more than 10 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid.
Paramilitary delegates are attending a peace conference that began this week in Switzerland co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and the US. The Sudanese army and government have refused to take part.
US envoy Tom Perriello said the talks were having some success, simply by drawing international focus on Sudan at a time “when the world was turning its attention away.”
