when RSF and allied Arab militias were committing the violations. The attackers came in military vehicles some written on the phrase “Rain without Lightning”39, accompanied with large numbers of soldiers on motorcycles, others riding horses, and many on foot, and they were masked. On June 13, 2023, we were a group of female paramedics inside the health facility when militias attacked us. They killed the wounded, raped some of the girls, and beat me along with others. As for the young men, if anyone admitted to be Masalit, would be killed immediately. I was also asked about my tribe, though I denied being Masalit, I was beaten because of my appearance and skin color. But they let me go because I was carrying wounded children. On June 14 2023, El Geneina was attacked entirely, and Governor Khamis Abaker was killed. People scattered, some fled towards Ardamata, where the army (SAF) garrison (base) was. Others fled towards Chad, passing through five villages belonging to the RSF militias and checkpoints. There, we were insulted by words like; “You ambai40, your real country is not here, you cannot live in this area.” When encountering militias/Janjaweed, or RSF on the road, they would first ask about your tribe. If you said you were Masalit, you were doomed, so you had to deny your identity and claim another tribe. They would then demand you speak the language of the tribe you claimed. If you failed, they would kill you. Being Masalit became a great challenge, so we never mentioned it until we reached Chad. The attackers used words like ‘slaves’, ‘ambai’, ‘remnants of the army’. and “we will eliminate you from existence especially the Masalit.””41 Ibrahim, 30 years, was residing in Khartoum studying at Khartoum University. When the armed conflict erupted in April 2023, he fled to Uganda. But his family and relatives were affected by the El Geneina attacks before they fled to Chad. “In April 2023, RSF targeted areas, their neighbourhoods and homes, mainly inhabited by Masalit community. They looted shops at the market, assaulted and killed many young men, 39 ’Rain without lightening’ is a term attributed to the leader of RSF promising disaster to anybody who faces the RSF during fighting. 40 This is a word derived from the word Nuba and it is used by west Sudan’s Arab populations as a as slur, identifying individuals of (black) African origin as slaves. 41 Interview with Rawda WhatsApp records,5th November 2025. 23