About 11 civilians killed across Sudan after SAF-RSF clashes
April 15, 2023 (EL FASHER) – At least 11 people were killed in El Fasher and Nyala of Darfur region and the national capital Khartoum on Saturday, following deadly clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militiamen (RSF).
The fight erupted on Saturday morning following the deployment of the RSF troops in Merowe Northern State last Wednesday without informing the head of the Sovereign Council and the army’s commander-in-chief.
Mustafa Suleiman, a paramedic at El Fasher Teaching Hospital, informed the Sudan Tribune that “three bodies arrived at the hospital after they died in the “Al-Malja” market due to shells falling during the clashes between the army and the Rapid Support forces near the command of the armed forces.”
He further stated that approximately 16 wounded individuals, including girls, have been admitted, some in critical condition. The clashes have been confined to the army command, the Rapid Support Forces, the medical corps, and El Fasher airport.
Following the commencement of the war battles, the army and RSF commanders traded accusations. Hemedti has pledged to arrest Burhan and bring him to justice, while the latter has declared the RSF an outlaw force and dissolved it.
In South Darfur state, military sources told Sudan Tribune that the army successfully repelled an attack carried out by the Rapid Support Forces on the army and western region command next to Nyala International Airport.
Bashir Mursal Hassaballah, Secretary-General of the Government of South Darfur State, inspected the conditions of hospitalized patients at Nyala Teaching Hospital. He said that the number of fatalities had reached approximately six people, with 16 wounded.
On their Facebook page, the RSF shared videos of their soldiers talking about their control of Sabira airport in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state.
The Rapid Support Forces seek to control military airports so that they are not used against their forces, which often lack anti-aircraft weapons.
Medical Statistics
According to a field report seen by Sudan Tribune on Saturday, the steering committee of the Doctors’ Union stated that two people were killed at Khartoum airport and a third in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.
In a subsequent update, the report highlighted the presence of a large number of injured, some of whom were in critical condition and requiring urgent surgical intervention.
The committee appealed to doctors to head to Bashaer and East Nile Hospitals in the capital Khartoum and El Fasher Hospital in North Darfur.
The medical body urged humanitarian organizations and the Red Cross to intervene urgently to evacuate the injured and provide medical assistance following the violent clashes.
She called for intravenous solutions, medical aids and blood bags, which are almost non-existent in Souda.
Medical sources told Sudan Tribune that 81 injured people were distributed in three hospitals in the Khartoum Bahri area only. They said that there are at least 7 dead, but the International Hospital in Khartoum North received only one body.
For its part, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors urged people to avoid going out to the streets and open places, not to climb to the rooftops of houses and stay away from windows.
(ST)