They assured the village during a March visit that the RSF would protect civilians, according to four residents. Soon afterwards, the RSF posted a video on social media, reviewed by Reuters, claiming to have dealt with unspecified "rogue actors" in the area.

But the next morning, the residents told Reuters, dozens of fighters stormed in on motorcycles and pickup trucks, firing guns in the air. The fighters, some in uniforms, went door to door grabbing money and valuables, prompting an exodus of thousands of people, they said.

The residents' accounts echo ones from across Sudan's central El Gezira state, a key farming region and strategic crossroads just south of the capital, Khartoum.

Reuters interviewed 43 people from 20 communities, including residents, activists and RSF recruits, who described a spiral of looting, kidnapping and killing after the group seized most of the state in December.

--Reuters--