Joint Force denies involvement in Sudan trade hub clashes
July 14, 2026 (AL DABBAH) – A spokesman for the Joint Force, a coalition of Darfuri armed movements allied with the Sudanese army, denied on Tuesday that the group had any institutional link to deadly clashes in the Northern State town of Al Dabbah.
The denial followed heavy fighting that erupted earlier in the day across various parts of the strategic trading hub. The clashes involved two armed factions accused of drug trafficking and left several civilians injured.
Local sources initially told Sudan Tribune that the fighting pitted local tribal elements against members of the Joint Force. The army subsequently deployed troops to restore calm and bring the situation under control.
Joint Force spokesman Mutawakil Ali Wakeel rejected claims of official involvement. He stated that the confrontations actually took place between personnel from the army’s 19th Infantry Division based at the Al Dabbah military base and a group of drug dealers belonging to a local tribe.
Wakeel added that if any Joint Force members were present at the scene, they acted strictly out of individual or tribal loyalties rather than under official orders. He categorically dismissed assertions of direct institutional clashes between the Joint Force and the local community.
The local security committee in Al Dabbah confirmed multiple civilian casualties, noting that the heavy and light weapons fire took place within heavily populated residential neighbourhoods.
Al Dabbah serves as one of northern Sudan’s most critical commercial hubs, linking the Darfur and Kordofan regions to the north. The town has seen a massive influx of tens of thousands of displaced civilians alongside a heavy concentration of military factions allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The incident comes amid growing complaints from local residents over a breakdown in security, widespread drug trafficking, and commodity smuggling. Community leaders have repeatedly demanded that armed factions withdraw their forces from residential quarters.