Kab Al-Jeddad village, south of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum (communication sites)

Khartoum -

 In remote villages in Al-Jazeera state in central Sudan, thousands of civilians are suffering from siege, terror and abuse at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces in a way that their areas have not witnessed and whose worst nightmares have not touched upon, according to testimonies and accounts obtained by Al-Jazeera Net.

Since the start of the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April of last year, the areas adjacent to the capital were affected by the fighting and the Rapid Support elements expanded to them, before a series of serious violations began against civilians, usually beginning with questioning the subordination of a number of residents to the army or military intelligence, followed by a series From the organized looting of cars, property, financial collectibles, and gold jewelry.

Residents of the Kab al-Jeddad area of ​​Al-Jazira State say in testimonies to Al-Jazeera Net that their area began facing rapid support 4 months after the outbreak of the war, and that violations and abuse of its people continue to this day without them finding anyone to protect them and stop the siege imposed on them.

The city of Kab Al-Jeddad is located in the northwestern part of the Jazira project, south of the capital, Khartoum, about 65 km away. It belongs to Al-Kamilin locality in Jazira state. It is known for its economic and commercial activity based on its distinctive strategic location, and its population is estimated at about 5 thousand people.

The people of Kab Al-Jaddad have been suffering for months from the practices of the Rapid Support Forces (social networking sites)

Looting and abuse

According to an eyewitness who spoke to Al Jazeera Net from the region, the Rapid Support Forces deployed in the village and inflicted torture and beatings on the people under the pretext of hosting an army force led by Major General Ayoub that arrived from the Blue Nile on its way to reclaim Taiba Camp, one of the large Rapid Support strongholds in Khartoum.

She added, "We looted, beat, and stole cars, motorcycles, mobile phones, and money. If they didn't find anything to take, they beat people severely. Even patients and companions in the hospital were not spared from looting phones and sums of money."

The witness tries to remember the first day that the Rapid Support Forces stormed her town by saying that the force entered on 9 motorcycles, the members of which were carrying firearms. They stormed the main market and tried to loot a vehicle belonging to the electricity company and two citizens. Those present in the market fought with the force, and one of them was killed and injured. Another, while the rest fled.

The same spokeswoman continued, "In the evening, about 9 Rapid Support vehicles arrived and their members fired gunshots to intimidate, and when no one came out, they stormed the mosque and arrested 10 people. During that time, the phone of one of the detainees rang, and they shot him and killed him on the spot under the pretext that he was an army spy."

According to the witness, the nine were taken to Soba prison, while the body of the dead man was left in the courtyard of the mosque.

The accident prompted large numbers of families - especially women and children - to leave the town, while most men and youth preferred to stay, and some families refrained from leaving.

Apologize and move on

The next evening - the witness says - the Rapid Support Commander in Jazira State, Abu Aqla Kikl, arrived in the area, accompanying the nine detainees, accompanied by 13 military vehicles. She quoted one of the kidnappers as saying that the force that had kidnapped them buried them alive, before they were taken out on orders from Kikl, who took them to The village and apologized to the people, but the surrounding atmosphere was terrifying, she said, as the soldiers deliberately fired bullets and roamed the streets of the village, which caused extreme panic.

She recounted that Kickel ordered a Rapid Support Forces vehicle to remain next to the police station in order to secure the village, but the Rapid Support Forces members in the vehicle deliberately robbed the citizens who were near the police station and the market, and beat anyone who refused to hand over what they had.

The same witness added, "Since that day, their attacks have continued to plunder the market and the area in retaliation for their murder, and because Kab al-Jadad hosted Major General Ayoub and his soldiers."

It is noteworthy that Major General Ayoub Abdel Qader is the commander of the 17th Infantry Division and one of the prominent army commanders. He was killed in mid-October last year as a result of an artillery bombardment carried out by the Rapid Support Forces that targeted the headquarters of the Armored Corps south of Khartoum.

Later - the witness says - a large force arrived in the area and replaced the police station’s paint and replaced it with the logo of the Rapid Support Forces, installed a mayor from the region, and began imposing financial fines, in addition to flogging and shaving young people’s hair.

It also imposed fees on street vendors in the town market without stopping the looting and looting, confiscating phones and goods or releasing them with sums of money, in addition to creating the need to obtain written permissions from Rapid Support to bring and transport goods from one region to another within the state.

The burning of the Arab Market buildings in central Khartoum as a result of clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support (Al Jazeera)

Similarity in neighbourhood

Many of the villages adjacent to Kab Al-Jeddad are suffering from the same situation, as the hands of rapid support extended to all the villages in the north of the island, including Al-Sedira Al-Sharqiya and Al-Gharbiyah, Al-Habibah, Al-Laouta, Al-Nuba, and Al-Masoudiyah.

But the situation got worse, says Ahmed Ali - a pseudonym for one of the eyewitnesses - after the fall of Wad Madani and the army’s withdrawal from the defense lines, which provided the opportunity for a wider deployment of the Rapid Support Forces, extending to remote villages, where they practiced horrific types of looting and theft, accompanied by abuse and intimidation of the simple people. .

Video clips of a large number of young people and the elderly in the Al-Muailiq area in Al-Jazeera State after their arrest by Rapid Support last January sparked widespread reactions, as at least 7 people were killed, and about 40 others were arrested, and they were beaten, insulted, humiliated, and forced to... Crawling to the ground after being accused of working with the army and digging trenches and dirt mounds to repel Rapid Support attacks.

Then, the Rapid Support Forces showed a video clip in which their leaders addressed the people of Al-Mu’ailq as they returned the detainees, saying that they had been mobilized by the army and had been liberated.

According to the testimonies of residents of the Al-Muailiq area, the Rapid Support Forces, which invaded the area for 3 days, practiced unprecedented terror and humiliation on the residents under the pretext of the presence of mobilized people supporting the army. They also looted the bank and stores due to their simplicity and the lack of supplies in them, and their members searched for what they said was a hidden weapon, but it was Phones and light and valuable belongings are stolen.

The Rapid Support Forces used heavy weapons in their attack on the town, which sparked a state of extreme fear and terror among the people.

The Rapid Support Forces had previously announced that they had formed a committee to combat negative phenomena to confront the criminals, and explained that the committee had imposed severe penalties on aggressors against citizens in the state of Al-Jazira and dealt with live bullets those who refused to respond to the committee’s orders in the state.

Source: Al Jazeera