The Beasts
By /Mohamed Saad
As the Sudanese army advances, asserting control over nearly all the territories previously occupied by the Janjaweed militias, citizens rejoice at the liberation of these areas. The Janjaweed had inflicted the most heinous abuses on civilians, including murder, rape, torture, and displacement. In response to their defeats, the Janjaweed have begun a campaign of revenge against residents in small villages, spreading terror to send a message to the international community in hopes of invoking Chapter VII and prompting military intervention in Sudan. This aligns with the political agenda of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as hinted by the militia’s leader in his latest speech, referring to “Plan B,” a tactic deployed after a series of losses to the Sudanese army. The essence of this plan has manifested in the brutal retaliation against innocent villagers in remote areas.
The ongoing violations by the RSF in Al-Jazira state remain relentless. Forty children have been killed, and young girls have been subjected to rape in the eastern part of the state. The death toll from the attack on Al-Sarha village has reached 300, with 50 victims slaughtered. Famine looms, exacerbating the suffering of civilians.
The RSF has intensified its violence, specifically targeting civilians in Al-Jazira, where the militia’s escalating brutality is viewed by observers as retaliatory—punishing the state’s RSF commander, Abu Aqila Keikel, for siding with the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Eyewitnesses described how the death toll was tallied in three stages: initial counts from the first hours of the attack, followed by bodies found inside homes, and lastly, those discovered in irrigation canals and agricultural fields. The militia has also released videos showing civilians being tortured, displaced, and killed.
UNICEF, in an official statement, expressed deep concern, saying: “We have received horrific reports of several girls, some as young as 13, being raped and subjected to sexual violence, in addition to children being detained.”
U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, urged the RSF to cease its brutal violations against civilians in Al-Jazira, calling on the militia to honor its commitments. In a post on X, Perriello stated, “We are monitoring the horrifying reports of atrocities committed by the RSF against Sudanese civilians across Al-Jazira, including rape and the killing of children.”
He added: “We call on the RSF to stop slaughtering civilians and cease all actions that violate the commitments made by Lieutenant General Hemedti Dagalo and the RSF leadership as part of the Sudan Support Alliance’s Code of Conduct and the Jeddah Declaration.”
