The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Tuesday it was “horrified” after five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers were killed while on duty in Bara, North Kordofan state.
Three other volunteers are missing following Monday’s attack, the IFRC said.
The oil-rich Kordofan region has been a major battleground in Sudan’s civil war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The RSF claimed Saturday to have regained control of Bara, a strategic city on a key crossroads to the Darfur region. United Nations agencies have voiced alarm about the reported level of violence in the city.
The Sudanese Red Crescent unit was on an official mission in Bara as part of a food distribution team, the IFRC said in a statement.
“They were clearly identified by wearing Red Crescent vests, which are supposed to provide them with full protection, and carried identification cards issued by the local branch.
“Any attack on humanitarian teams is unacceptable.”
The IFRC said the Sudanese Red Crescent has lost 21 colleagues on duty since the conflict broke out in April 2023.
The IFRC, the world’s largest humanitarian network, said that so far this year, 25 Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers from across the globe have lost their lives while carrying out their humanitarian duties.
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A war-monitoring group has reported widespread massacres in Kordofan, including in Bara after the RSF claimed to have regained control.
Furthermore, the UN rights office said Monday that summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters were being reported in Bara after its recapture.
“The victims were reportedly accused of supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces. Reports suggest that dozens of civilians have been killed,” it said.
Jacqueline Parlevliet, the UN refugee agency’s Port Sudan sub-office chief, said Tuesday that “violence and human rights violations have been reported by survivors” following the fall of Bara.
This has triggered “further displacement of thousands” within North Kordofan, she told reporters in Geneva.
“We are concerned about a possible siege of the town of El Obeid, hosting tens of thousands of internally displaced Sudanese, which would further exacerbate humanitarian needs in the region,” she added, speaking from Amsterdam.
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© Agence France-Presse
