KHARTOUM, Sudan

At least 124 people were killed on Saturday in attacks carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the village of Alseriha in the Gezira state of central Sudan, the Sudan Doctors Network said.

“A force affiliated with the RSF committed a massacre against civilians in the village of Alseriha, resulting in the death of 124 people from the area following an armed attack that lasted for hours, while dozens were injured and hundreds were displaced from the village,” said the non-governmental organization in a statement.

The network condemned the RSF attack on Alseriha and other villages in the east and west of Gezira, calling it an “irrational escalation against civilians who have chosen to remain for over a year in difficult and tragic humanitarian conditions."

The RSF has not yet commented on the situation.

Earlier on Friday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 853 households were displaced from Tamboul city and surrounding villages in Gezira state between Oct. 20 and 24, 2024, due to escalating clashes between the Sudanese army and RSF.

The developments come just days after Abu Aqla Muhammad Ahmed Kikil, the RSF commander in Gezira, announced his defection to the Sudanese army, taking his forces with him.

Areas in eastern Gezira, Kikil's home region, have become the base for his forces, who now fight alongside the army.

In Dec. 2023, Kikil’s RSF forces seized control of several cities in Gezira, including the state capital, Wad Medani, which is just south of Khartoum.

Since mid-April 2023, Sudan’s army and the RSF have been locked in a deadly conflict, which has resulted in over 20,000 deaths and displaced more than 10 million people, according to the UN.

The international community and the UN have intensified their calls for an end to the violence, as the conflict threatens to drive millions into famine due to food shortages in 13 of Sudan's 18 states.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala