| Location: | Wad Al-Noora, Gezira State, Sudan |
| Date: | 5 June 2024 |
| Time-Begin: | 05:00 GMT+2 |
| Type: | Massacre, Looting |
| Fatalities: | 150-200+ |
| Injuries: | 200+ |
| Partof: | War crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) and Aftermath of the battle of Wad Madani |
| Map: | Al Jazirah in Sudan (Kafia Kingi disputed).svg |
| Perpetrator: | Rapid Support Forces |
| Dfens: | 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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]