Exclusive – Naba Sudan:
A woman from Wad Al-Noura village in Sudan’s Al-Gezira State has recounted the loss of three of her brothers and her sister’s husband during an attack on the village in May 2024, saying the family continues to struggle with the trauma of their loss.
Speaking to Nabaa Sudan, she said residents had been living in a state of tension before the attack due to repeated incursions by armed groups on motorcycles carrying out looting, noting that villagers confronted them with simple weapons in the absence of any presence of the army, police, or security agencies.
She said: “The people of the village agreed not to allow the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia to take anything from the area. After the Friday events, there were martyrs and wounded, but the Wednesday attack was treacherous while people were asleep.”
She recalled her final moments with her youngest brother, Safwan, saying he woke up at dawn to go to the mosque, but she tried to stop him out of fear for his safety. “We held him tightly for nearly half an hour to stop him from going out. He kept telling me: if you hear gunfire, stay inside the mud house. If you hold me back, I will die of heartbreak, and you will carry the blame.”
She added that Safwan was unarmed but refused to hide or leave the house, while some village youths stayed behind to defend the area with limited weapons.
Her brother Magdi, a father of four, she said, had not been known to have left the house until his body was returned. He used to say that dying defending land and family was “a form of martyrdom that should not be missed.”
Her other brother, Osama, a father of six, she said believed death was preferable to the abuses faced by civilians, adding that he had said before his death that Allah would take care of his children.
She said: “We only learned of their deaths after the RSF left the village. They brought us three bodies, and we could not cry or speak. Even speech stopped in us.”
The family described Safwan as kind to his parents, always smiling, generous, and well-loved in the community, known for helping others and fulfilling people’s needs.
Osama, she added, was “poor in wealth but rich in spirit,” patient in hardship and known for his kindness and dignity despite living in extreme poverty.
Following the attack, the family was forced to flee the village, leaving their homes open as they were displaced by scenes of killing, fear, and loss.
She concluded: “We are simple people from Wad Al-Noura. We offered pure blood to the country, and many homes are now left filled with orphans after what happened.”
