RSF ‘shoot at’ and ‘beat’ Sudanese civilians in El Gezira

Wad Madani Resistance Committees have accused the RSF of shooting at people in El Azaza before the arrival of RSF commander of El Gezira Abu Agla Keikel in the village.

The resistance committees of Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, accused the RSF of “shooting at the villagers” of El Azaza village, in El Hasaheisa locality in El Gezira, yesterday. Some of them sustained bullet wounds. Others, mostly youth, were detained. 

In a statement, committees said that “the RSF gathered all the men of the village and brutally beat them, then plundered the village.”

The RSF commander of El Gezira, Abu Agla Keikel, reportedly arrived in the village and asked them to get up and show they were fine “to shoot a video for the sake of disinformation.” 

The fate of the detained youths is still unknown, the resistance committees said. The statement holds the RSF responsible for their safety. 

The RSF announced their full control of El Gezira on December 19. RSF Commander-in-Chief Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo assigned former army officer Keikel as commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Wad Madani, which de facto means the rulership of El Gezira. 

Earlier that month, Keikel was seen heading a small RSF convoy in the Butana plains in El Gedaref, east of El Gezira. Keikel set up the Sudan Shield Forces (SSF) in El Butana in El Gedaref at the end of 2022.  

A military expert accused supporters of the defunct Al Bashir regime of being responsible for the formation of the SSF and other new militias supporting the army. The SSF was allowed by the authorities to hold rallies in eastern and central Sudan, including Khartoum. In August, however, Keikel changed sides and joined the better-paying RSF.