Wad An Nora massacre

Wad An Nora massacre
Part of War crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) and Aftermath of the battle of Wad Madani
Gezira State, Sudan
Location	Wad Al-Noora, Gezira State, Sudan
Coordinates	14°30′57″N 32°30′41″E
Date	5 June 2024 05:00 GMT+2 –
Attack type	Massacre, Looting
Deaths	150-200+
Injured	200+
Perpetrator	Rapid Support Forces
Defenders	Civilians of Wad Al-Noora, Sudanese Air Force

The Wad Al-Noora massacre started at around 05:00 (GMT+2) on 5 June 2024, when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the village of Wad Al-Noora in Al-Jazira state twice, killing at least 100 civilians. The massacre followed after the RSF sieged and opened fire on the village.

Background

This section is an excerpt from Sudanese civil war (2023–present).[edit]

A civil war began on 15 April 2023 between two rival factions of the military government of Sudan. The conflict involves the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (commonly known as Hemedti), who also leads the broader Janjaweed coalition. Several smaller armed groups have also taken part. Fighting has been concentrated in the capital, Khartoum, where the conflict began with large-scale battles, and in the Darfur region. Many civilians in Darfur have been reported dead as part of the Masalit massacres, which have been described as ethnic cleansing or genocide. Sudan has been described as facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis; nearly 25 million people are experiencing extreme hunger. On 7 January 2025, the United States said it had determined that the RSF and allied militias committed genocide.

Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan has endured chronic instability marked by 20 coup attempts, prolonged military rule, two devastating civil wars, and the Darfur genocide. The war erupted amid tensions over the integration of the RSF into the army following the 2021 coup, starting with RSF attacks on government sites in Khartoum and other cities. The capital region was soon divided between the two factions, and al-Burhan relocated his government to Port Sudan. International efforts, including the May 2023 Jeddah Declaration, failed to stop the fighting, while various rebel groups entered the war: the SPLM–North (al-Hilu faction) attacked the SAF in the south; the Tamazuj movement joined the RSF; and the SAF gained support from factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. By late 2023, the RSF controlled most of Darfur and advanced in Khartoum, Kordofan, and Gezira. The SAF regained momentum in early 2024, making gains in Omdurman and eventually retaking Khartoum, including the Presidential Palace and airport, by March 2025. Despite renewed negotiations, no lasting ceasefire has been reached, and the war continues with severe humanitarian consequences and regional implications.

Famine alone has killed an estimated 522,000 children, while the overall death toll of the war, including fatalities from violence, starvation, and disease, is even higher; thousands more remain missing or have been killed in targeted massacres, primarily attributed to the RSF and allied militias. At least 61,000 people have died in Khartoum State alone, of which 26,000 were a direct result of the violence. As of 5 February 2025, over 8.8 million were internally displaced and more than 3.5 million others had fled the country as refugees. In August 2024, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee (FRC) confirmed famine conditions in parts of North Darfur.

Foreign involvement in Sudan’s conflict has included arms shipments from China, Russia and Turkey, with UAE and Chad support for the RSF and Egypt support for the SAF, amid regional tensions. The war has triggered a massive humanitarian crisis marked by extreme shortages of food, water, medicine, and aid access, widespread hospital closures, disease outbreaks, mass displacement, looting of humanitarian supplies, and the near-collapse of education and infrastructure, leaving over half the population in urgent need of assistance. There have been calls for more aid, legal protections for humanitarian workers, refugee support, and an end to arms supplies to the RSF, particularly by the UAE. Both the SAF and RSF have waged sophisticated disinformation campaigns using social media, fake footage, and AI-generated content to manipulate public perception, discredit opponents, and influence international opinion. In response to the conflict, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union imposed sanctions on individuals, companies, and entities linked to the SAF and RSF for ceasefire violations, human rights abuses, and destabilizing activities.

Massacre

Civilian Resistance Committees reported that after stationing at Al-Nala office on the outskirts of the village, the RSF documented themselves using heavy shelling, heavy artillery fire, dual cannons, and quadruple cannons on the village. The Sudanese Air Force dispersed the RSF and forced them to retreat to Al-Ashra neighbourhood nearby, looting the village. After this, the RSF mobilized dozens of vehicles and returned to the outskirts of Wad Al-Noora to surround and siege the village. After meeting strong resistance from villagers despite the mismatch in weapon capabilities, the militia entered the village through the hospital. They proceeded to violently loot cars, markets, and homes, cut off network access in the village, spread their forces along the tops of buildings mosques, and randomly targeted citizens with firepower, with most of them being unarmed. No Sudanese Armed Forces reinforcements arrived to the village after the second assault on it started.

Aftermath

Videos shared by the Committees of Madani showed the burial of dozens of citizens in a public square. Among the deceased included Sudan News Agency journalist Makkawi Muhammad Ahmed. Finding the full number of casualties was delayed due to network outages in the village, with preliminary fatality counts gradually moving from 100 deaths to 200 deaths.

Eyewitnesses to the attack claimed that the assailants would execute citizens who were already injured, and would target woman and children. The assault resulted in the forced displacement of all the surviving women and children in the village, many of them taking refuge in Al-Manaqil. Many of the survivors denounced the Sudanese Armed Forces for not sending in any reinforcements to defend the village during the second assault, despite many villagers requesting help.

The Rapid Support Forces justified the massacre on its official "X" account by claiming that the village held enemy Burhan and Mujahideen Brigades and that they were planning to attack their forces in the Jabal Awliya area in Khartoum.

The Mashad Observatory for Human Rights strongly condemned the indiscriminate nature of the attacks and the resulting forced displacement of women and children as war crimes that violated human rights and international law. They called on the international community to speak out against the RSF, intervene to prevent further war crimes, and bring justice to those who were responsible.

The National Umma Party decried the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the RSF, and claimed that the assault represented a continuation of the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur. They warned the international community of the possible consequences of remaining silent and not holding the RSF accountable for their genocidal actions, rape, and forced displacement.

A football field in the village was converted into a cemetery for the victims.