Man ‘killed for being Nuba’ in Sudan’s South Kordofan

On Thursday last week, a man was killed by armed men wearing uniforms of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) near the South Kordofan capital of Kadugli, after he stated he belonged to the Nuba Reika tribe.

The Sudanese Human Rights and Development Organisation (HUDO) reported in a press statement yesterday that Awad El Wakeel (33) was travelling, together with three others, in a vehicle from El Keweik, 40 km north of Kadugli, to the capital on May 21.

When they reached El Berdab, five armed men dressed in uniforms of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia intercepted them. They ordered them to get out of the car and asked them about their ethnic background.

When El Wakeel answered he belonged to the Reika tribe from the Nuba Mountains, they shot him dead on the spot. The other travellers were allowed to continue their journey.

El Wakeel’s body was taken to the Kadugli Teaching Hospital and later buried in the town.

Radio Dabanga reported last week that members of the RSF raided El Berdab village, 27 km north of Kadugli, on May 13.

They asked the villagers about their ethnic background. Those belonging to a Nuba tribe, the majority of the villagers, were beaten. Nine people were killed. More than two hundred homes burned to the ground. At least 2,000 villagers fled to the nearby South Kordofan capital.

On May 14, men wearing RSF uniforms stormed the El Amara district in the eastern part of Kadugli. They beat the residents and set fire to several houses. At least five people were killed, and an unknown number were wounded.

A report by the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) on violence in Sudan between March and May this year indicates that members of the army and the RSF continue to violate human rights in the country.

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