November 20, 2024 (TEKINA) – At least ten people were killed on Wednesday when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the town of Tekina in Al Jazirah state for a second consecutive day, residents and a local source said.
The attack began on Tuesday when RSF fighters attempted to enter Tekina, which is home to around 180,000 people, including those displaced from 13 nearby villages. Residents repelled the initial assault, killing four RSF fighters.
However, the RSF returned on Wednesday with reinforcements, residents said.
“They attacked the town again this morning with greater force, but they were met with resistance,” a resident, who declined to be named for security reasons, told Sudan Tribune.
The RSF then shelled the town from the nearby village of Um Magd, killing six people and wounding others, the resident added.
The attacks are part of the RSF’s campaign of retaliation against villages in eastern Al Jazirah, which began on October 21, following the defection of local RSF commander Abu Aqla Keikal to the Sudanese army.
An RSF spokesman accused Tekina residents of belonging to the Popular Resistance supporting the army. However, the resident Sudan Tribune spoke to denied this, saying the town was isolated and located deep within RSF-controlled territory. He said residents had acquired light weapons from RSF members to defend themselves against “Shafshafa” criminal gangs.
The resident expressed concern that the RSF might carry out a massacre in Tekina and that the ongoing siege would prevent the delivery of food and medicine.
Tekina, located about 110 km (68 miles) north of Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state, was also attacked by the RSF in May, resulting in the deaths of 18 people. The RSF claimed at the time that residents possessed weapons.
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