Rapid Support Forces launch fresh attack on El Fasher, sparking displacement
October 31, 2023 (EL-FASHER) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a fresh attack on advanced positions of the army command in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on Tuesday, resulting in a wave of displacement from the city.
Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that the RSF used drones to attack advanced positions of the Sixth Infantry Division command, located west of El Fasher. Violent clashes with heavy weapons also took place between the army and the RSF, leading to civilian injuries and displacing residents of several neighbourhoods in the northern and eastern parts of the city.
Shells fired by the RSF fell on the Al-Takrir neighbourhood, causing severe damage to a number of homes.
El Fasher hosts thousands of displaced people who recently fled from Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, in addition to those who arrived from Central and West Darfur.
Clashes between the army and the RSF in El Fasher had stopped for the past month, following a temporary truce sponsored by local leaders and members of the armed movements. Under the terms of the deal, the RSF were to remain in their positions east of El Fasher, while the army would remain in their positions west of the city. However, the truce quickly collapsed with renewed clashes this October, after the militiamen attempted to expand into new areas.
Turkish doctors evacuated from Nyala
In addition, the joint force of the peace groups said on Tuesday that they had managed to evacuate Turkish medical staff from Nyala to El Fasher, following the RSF capture of South Darfur capital several days ago.
In a statement on Tuesday, the joint force confirmed that the medical staff who ran the Turkish Hospital in Nyala had been handed over to the Darfur regional government in preparation for their transfer to Turkey.
The Turkish hospital, which provides medical services to thousands in the five states of Darfur, was looted and vandalized by the RSF members.
Tensions in El Geneina
Sharp tensions also prevailed between the army and the RSF in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, after the incursion of large numbers of the paramilitary forces and their deployment in the areas of Um Dwayne, Um Al-Qura, and parts of Dorti, which are sites adjacent to the command of the 15th Infantry Division.
Sources told Sudan Tribune that mediation was led by several traditional leaders remaining in the city to prevent clashes between the two parties. The army rejected a proposal by the civilian leaders to hand over army command to the RSF.
Residents of the Ardamta area and the neighbourhoods of Izaah and Hilla Jadid began to flee towards the Chadian town of Adre, fearing bloody clashes between the two sides.
From April 15 to last June, El Geneina witnessed tribal violence between the Arab tribes and the Masalit, which killed more than four thousand civilians and displaced more than 200 thousand others towards Chad, according to the United Nations.
(ST)