Twenty-six people, including civilians, were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a Sudan Rapid Support Forces (RSF) base this week outside the town of Kadugli in South Kordofan state.
RSF leader General Hamdan Dagalo condemned Monday’s attack.
Kadugli town authorities said armed men in military uniforms attacked the RSF base.
Nineteen others were injured in the attack and were airlifted to Khartoum for treatment, according to Major General Rasheed Abdulhameed Ismeal, the military caretaker governor of South Kordofan state.
No arrests have been reported, and the gunmen remain unidentified but were said to have arrived in four Land Rovers.
General Dagalo, a Sudanese Sovereign Council member, called the incident politically motivated. He accused unnamed individuals of trying to create insecurity by fueling tribal conflict among locals and pitting his RSF forces against the Sudan Armed Forces for political gain.
Dagalo warned politicians against trying to foment violence among citizens.
“Any politician who might have a plan of reaching any position should do that without harming the country. Currently, people are trying to survive the global pandemic, and many don’t have food to eat and at the same time others are instigating violence,” said Dagalo.
A committee has been formed to investigate the attack and the transitional government has agreed to set up a court martial to try the perpetrators, according to Dagalo.
“We need the entire Sudanese people to know about this process and there is a need to monitor closely. We need people to benefit from the current political change in the country; they should refrain from violence and seduction,” said Dagalo.
Sudan is currently led by a joint military-civilian government created last August after the military ousted longtime president Omar al-Bashir.
Dagalo said the government will not tolerate tribalism in the army, adding the military should be seen as a symbol of nationalism across the country.
Last week, authorities in South Darfur state reported nearly 30 people from the Falata and Rezeigat tribes were killed. Another inter-communal conflict erupted last weekend in Sudan’s eastern town of Kasala, which left more than 10 people dead.
Dagalo vowed to stamp out inter-communal conflicts in all areas of Sudan and urged citizens to cooperate with the government.
Editor's note: An earlier story mistakenly said where the attack occurred. It happened in Sudan.
