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Sudan: 300,000 flee as RSF advance on key city and aid hub

December 19, 2023

The former safe haven city of Wad Madani became the scene of fighting in a new front of Sudan's war. The paramilitary force's advance has forced hundreds of thousands to flee.

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Sudanese army soldiers patrol in Gedaref in eastern Sudan, on December 18, 2023. Paramilitary forces established a base on December 17, 2023 in the formerly safe city of Wad Madani in war-torn Sudan
Fighters from a paramilitary force battling the army for eight months advanced into the city of Wad MadaniImage: AFP/Getty Images

As many as 300,000 people have fled fighting on a new front in Sudan's war, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Monday night.

Fighters from a paramilitary force that has been battling the army for eight months advanced into the city of Wad Madani, the capital of the El Gezira state. They also seized the town of Rufaa, witnesses said.

Wad Madani had been a haven

The takeover of Wad Madani, a city packed with displaced people and an aid hub during the current conflict, could be a turning point in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) advance through western and central regions of Sudan.

Displaced people fleeing from Wad Madani in Sudan's Jazira state arrive in Gedaref in the country's east on December 18, 2023. Paramilitary forces established a base on December 17, 2023 in the formerly safe city of Wad Madani in war-torn Sudan.
At least 250,000 to 300,000 people have fled El Gezira since the eruption of clashes four days ago, according to the International Organization for MigrationImage: AFP/Getty Images

The city lies about 170 kilometers (105 miles) southeast of the capital Khartoum and is an important agricultural region in a country facing worsening hunger.

At least 250,000 to 300,000 people had fled El Gezira since the eruption of clashes four days ago, the IOM said in a statement.

"Fleeing again will completely deplete our resources," Heba Abdelrahim, who had come to Wad Madani with her family from Khartoum, told Reuters. "Thinking logically we will wait until we don't have any other choice."

Displaced people fleeing from Wad Madani in Sudan's Jazira state arrive in Gedaref in the country's east on December 17, 2023. Paramilitary forces established a base on December 17 in the formerly safe city of Wad Madani in war-torn Sudan.
The war between the army and the RSF has forced more than seven million people to flee their homes.Image: AFP/Getty Images

Videos posted by the RSF showed fighters in pick-up trucks driving along streets in Wad Madani and over a bridge across the Blue Nile that it had been fighting over with the army. Witnesses said they also raided nearby villages.

In one video, RSF fighters carrying rifles stood with their arms around Coptic priests, who said they had not been able to flee but asked the RSF for help leaving the city.

The videos were not verified. There army did not comment.

Local pro-democracy activists said the RSF had set up checkpoints throughout the city and were looting homes and cars, with no army or police present.

The background to the fighting in Sudan

The RSF and the army had shared power with civilians after the 2019 overthrow of former strongman Omar al-Bashir before staging a coup together in 2021 then coming to blows over an internationally backed political transition plan.

The UN Security Council ended its political mission in Sudan earlier this month. 

Since fighting broke out on April 15 between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Wad Madani became a haven for thousands of displaced people during the conflict.

The war between the army and the RSF has forced more than seven million people to flee their homes, left the capital in ruins, caused a humanitarian crisis and triggered waves of ethnically driven killings in Darfur.

In Khartoum, the RSF has been accused of looting homes, raping women, and arbitrary killings and detentions.

Sudan: UN alarmed at ethnically motivated attacks in Darfur

mds/ab (AFP, Reuters)