By Reuters
Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have attacked villages in the east of Sudan’s El Gezira state, killing at least 25 people, following the defection of high-ranking RSF officer Abuagla Keikal who is from the area, activists said.
As soldiers from other RSF divisions ransacked the farming state beginning in December, Keikal’s local forces had held incursions into east Gezira at bay, sparing civilians the worst of the violence while imposing control on the area.
But following his defection on Sunday, large numbers of RSF soldiers streamed into the region, in what activists described as revenge, reporting displacement, looting and killings.
“Now they have their chance to do what they want,” said one activist who asked to remain anonymous to protect family in the area.
The Rufaa Resistance Committee, a pro-democracy group, said on Tuesday that at least 25 people had been killed in Rufaa, the area’s largest town, and
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