Al-Jazira: At least 42 people died following an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Wad Oshaib village in central Sudan’s Al-Jazira state, local sources said Wednesday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the Al-Jazira Conference, a local activist group, issued a statement accusing the RSF of committing ‘violations and mass killings’ of civilians in the region. The group has not responded to the allegation.

‘RSF forces killed 42 people by gunfire Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, while 27 others died due to the siege and lack of medical care,’ the statement said. It noted that RSF personnel first attacked the village last Thursday, looting properties, terrorizing residents, and imposing a tight blockade.

On Tuesday, local activists reported that the 27 people died due to the spread of epidemics and shortages of medicine and food caused by the RSF’s siege. Clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces resumed in Al-Jazira on Oct. 20 after Abu Aqla Kikil, the RSF paramilitar
y commander in the state, defected and declared his allegiance to the army.

There have been growing calls from the UN and international bodies to end the conflict, as the war has pushed millions of Sudanese to the brink of famine and death due to food shortages, with the fighting spreading to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.