The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Tuesday it was “horrified” after five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers were killed while on duty in Bara, Sudan’s North Kordofan State.
Three other volunteers remain missing following Monday’s attack, the IFRC said.
The oil-producing Kordofan region has been a major battleground in Sudan’s civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF said on Saturday it had regained control of Bara, a strategic town at a crossroads leading to the Darfur region. United Nations agencies have expressed alarm over reports of widespread violence in the area.
The Sudanese Red Crescent team was on an official food distribution mission in Bara, the IFRC said in a statement.
“They were clearly identified, wearing Red Crescent vests that are supposed to provide them full protection, and carried identification cards issued by the local branch,” the IFRC said. “Any attack on humanitarian teams is unacceptable.”
The IFRC said the Sudanese Red Crescent has lost 21 staff and volunteers in the line of duty since the conflict erupted in April 2023.
Globally, 25 Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers have been killed this year while carrying out humanitarian work, the IFRC said.
Worsening Violence
A war-monitoring group has reported widespread killings in Kordofan, including in Bara, after the RSF claimed to have regained control.
The U.N. human rights office said on Monday that summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters were being reported in Bara following its recapture.
“The victims were reportedly accused of supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces. Reports suggest that dozens of civilians have been killed,” the U.N. office said.
Jacqueline Parlevliet, head of the U.N. refugee agency’s sub-office in Port Sudan, said on Tuesday that “violence and human rights violations have been reported by survivors” following the fall of Bara.
She said the fighting has triggered “further displacement of thousands” within North Kordofan.
“We are concerned about a possible siege of the town of El Obeid, which hosts tens of thousands of internally displaced Sudanese, and which would further exacerbate humanitarian needs in the region,” she added, speaking from Amsterdam.