DUBAI: In the vicinity of Wad Madani, located centrally in Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces engaged in combat with the army on Saturday. This ongoing attack has initiated a new battleground in the eight-month-long conflict, prompting thousands to flee, according to witnesses.
Videos on social media depicted crowds, including individuals who had sought sanctuary in Wad Madani from the turmoil in Khartoum, hurriedly leaving the area on foot, carrying their possessions.
Speaking via phone to Reuters, 45-year-old Ahmed Salih expressed his need to find transportation to escape the escalating conflict with his family, stating, “The conflict has reached Madani, so I am searching for a bus to ensure my family and I can seek safety. We are enduring unbearable conditions without any assistance.”
Sudan’s army, in control of the city since the conflict’s inception, conducted airstrikes on RSF forces situated east of the city in Gezira state, attempting to repel the assault that commenced on Friday, witnesses reported.
Responding with artillery, the RSF witnessed reinforcements heading towards the conflict zone, while sightings of RSF soldiers were reported in nearby villages to the north and west of the city, according to residents.
The United Nations reported that 14,000 people had fled the area thus far, with several thousand having already reached alternative cities. Approximately half a million individuals had sought refuge in Gezira, primarily originating from Khartoum.
The Sudanese Doctors Union cautioned that hospitals in the area, critical for humanitarian and medical aid, were experiencing a depletion in occupancy and could face closure. Moreover, over 340 children and staff from the Maygoma orphanage in Khartoum were urgently in need of relocation assistance.
The conflict’s escalation has instilled fear for other cities under army control in southern and eastern Sudan, where tens of thousands have sought shelter.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, urged all parties to safeguard civilians and implored the RSF to refrain from attacks, warning of consequences for those involved in terror activities.
Despite an East African mediation initiative to end the war, both the army and RSF have cast doubt on its efficacy. In areas already overtaken by the RSF, reports of atrocities like rape, looting, arbitrary killings, and detentions have surfaced, along with accusations of ethnic-based violence in West Darfur.
While the RSF has denied these allegations and pledged accountability for any wrongdoing among its forces, clashes have reignited around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after a period of relative calm. Additionally, reports of heavy army strikes in Nyala, South Darfur, and Bahri, a city neighboring Khartoum, have emerged.
While the army has not issued a statement regarding the conflict in Wad Madani, Sudan’s foreign ministry labeled the RSF as terrorists for their “declared attack on a number of safe villages and neighborhoods in the east of Gezira state, which are devoid of military targets.”
The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army originated in April due to disputes over the transition to democracy and the integration of both forces.
Source: Reuters