Man killed by RSF militiamen in eastern Sudan

Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s main militia, shot dead an eastern Sudanese civilian in Tokar in Red Sea state on Saturday.
Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a car owner reported that Mansour Barakat was killed in the area south of Dorta in Tokar locality on Saturday afternoon.
“The incident took place when elements of the Rapid Support militia stopped a number of Hilux and Toyota vehicles that were on their way to Garora in Agig locality with merchandise,” he said.
“Mansour approached the line of cars and only asked what was going on. Yet the militiamen immediately shot him. He died instantly.”
He said that large numbers of RSF militiamen are currently deployed in the border areas of Agig. “They are taking goods from the people, saying that they are the ruling authority in the area and do not recognise the armed forces or the police.”
Khartoum deployed large numbers of RSF troops in Kassala late last year, to implement the disarmament campaign in the eastern state. People in Kassala have more than once protested the presence of the militiamen and demanded their return to their bases.
In early January, the Sudanese government deployed thousands of RSF militiamen along the border with Eritrea.
According to the Governor of Kassala at the time, the paramilitaries are responsible for collecting illegal arms, conducting an inventory of unlicensed vehicles, and combating human trafficking and the smuggling of goods in the state.