Civilians detained and harassed by RSF soldiers in El Gezira

لقراءة المقال بالعربية

Al-Mu’ayliq Village, El Gezira

Figure 1: Location of Al-Mu’ayliq Village, El Gezira

Summary: 

• On 10 January 2024, a video was posted showing armed individuals in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms detaining a large group of men in civilian clothing, with an injured body and a motionless body lying on the ground behind the group. Sudan Witness geolocated the video to near the village of Al-Mu’ayliq, El Gezira.

• Sudan Witness assessed that the incident likely took place on 9 January 2024, and that based on the uniforms and visible insignia, the RSF were likely involved in the incident.

Fighting has intensified in El Gezira state since December 2023. The fighting started around the state’s capital Wad Madani on 15 December 2023, which was subsequently taken over by the RSF on 18 December, as reported by The Guardian. Footage analysed for this report shows that RSF soldiers have advanced on other areas in El Gezira state since then.

On 10 January 2024, a pro-RSF X account shared a video showing a large group of men in civilian clothing confined in a rural area by armed individuals in RSF uniforms. The men, gathered on an embankment, are digging the earth with their hands, whilst an injured man and a motionless body, both in civilian clothing, can be seen lying on the ground behind the group. One of the armed men is heard asking the wounded civilian, “are you dead or alive, you dog?”. Sudan Witness geolocated the video to a canal embankment area 2 km southeast of the village of Al-Mu’ayliq, a small agricultural village in northern El Gezira.

Figure 2: Geolocation of the footage showing detained villagers [15.007229,33.109233] and [15.007020,33.109204] Sources: Google Earth and X

At 1:54 seconds into the video, a person outside the frame claims that it is 9 January. Although Sudan Witness has not yet chronolocated the footage, a reverse search suggests the footage was indeed first uploaded on 9 January 2024. Based on analysis of the light and shadows visible in the video through Suncalc, the incident likely took place between 12:00-13:00 GMT+2.

At 0:26 seconds into the video, a man is shown wearing a uniform with a shoulder patch clearly resembling the RSF logo (figure 3). Based on this, Sudan Witness assessed that it was likely the RSF were responsible for the detention of the civilians.

Figure 3: An RSF shoulder patch visible in the footage. Sources: X and Global Security