DUBAI (Reuters) – Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces said on Saturday they had taken control of the army headquarters in West Darfur’s capital of El Geneina, cementing their takeover of a city where they have been accused of carrying out a wave of ethnic killings.
The city is the third of the war-torn Darfur region’s five state capitals that the RSF has fully taken over the past two weeks, even as representatives for the paramilitary group and the army began talks in Jeddah.
Thousands of refugees have arrived in Chad since the RSF began attacking El Geneina earlier this week, aid workers say, joining more than 500,000 Sudanese who have fled there since fighting for control of the country began between the RSF and the army in April.
In El Geneina, the RSF and allied Arab militias are accused by local residents of targeting and killing thousands of ethnic Masalit people, looting homes and markets, and raping women. The RSF leadership denies the accusations and says any soldiers found guilty of violations will be brought to justice.
The Sudanese Alliance, an armed group fighting alongside the Sudanese army, conceded the loss in a statement but said it would continue to fight the RSF. The Sudanese army did not comment on the events.
(Reporting by Maggie Michael and Khalid Abdelaziz, writing by Nafisa Eltahir, editing by Giles Elgood)
