Northern Sudan council urges displaced villagers to return home near tense border

June 21, 2025 (HALFA) – A local council in northern Sudan on Saturday urged residents to return to their villages after many fled fearing attacks when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized a strategic border area, according to a council statement.

The displacement occurred in the West Al-Sakout region after the RSF took control of the border triangle connecting Sudan, Egypt, and Libya, raising concerns of a broader offensive in the Northern State, which has been a refuge from a year-long national conflict.

“The Armed Forces, allied support troops, and the joint force are vigilant in ensuring the safety of citizens,” the High Council for the Development of Al-Sakout said in its statement. “We urge our people… to return to their homes and disregard rumours.”

The council said the army had conducted “preemptive” raids on RSF positions with “good results.”

However, despite government assurances, some residents have expressed fear of the army’s own allied forces. The statement acknowledged “panic among the residents… after the arrival of some negative elements from the forces present in these villages”. It stated that troops would be relocated further from civilian areas within two days.

The fears have had a tangible impact on the region. A video circulated by activists showed a deserted market in Al-Khanag, more than 100 km (62 miles) northwest of the state capital, Dongola, which they said was emptied by miners fleeing rumours of an imminent RSF advance.

The council’s statement also accused unnamed parties of encouraging the displacement in order to loot homes and of using “cells to terrorize merchants” and social media to incite citizens against the army.

The joint force, a coalition of armed movements allied with the army, has itself faced accusations in the past of carrying out looting in remote gold-mining areas.