El Fasher Engulfed: Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces Clash in Deadly Urban Conflict
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| El Fasher Engulfed: Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces Clash in Deadly Urban Conflict |
Witnesses reported hearing strong explosions and an exchange of gunfire south and east of the city of El Fasher, with heavy plumes of smoke rising
Eyewitnesses said that clashes with heavy and light weapons renewed, today, Saturday, between the Sudanese army and the armed movements allied with it, on the one hand, against the Rapid Support Forces in the southern and eastern parts of the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, according to the “Arab World” news agency.
Calm had returned to the city of El Fasher in the past two days after the pace of ground battles declined, as the army and the Rapid Support Forces began to rely on exchanging artillery strikes.
Witnesses reported hearing strong explosions and an exchange of gunfire south and east of the city, with heavy columns of smoke rising. A resident said that the northern side of the city of El Fasher was witnessing a cautious calm after it had witnessed fierce battles in the past few days.
He noted that communications networks and the Internet are not available in most parts of El Fasher, as power outages continue.
He added that the waves of displacement from the city of El Fasher are increasing on a daily basis as a result of the battles there, as citizens are forced to use animals, some of them on foot, on trips out of the city.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the fighting in El Fasher has put "unbearable pressure" on hundreds of thousands of residents and on the city's meager resources.
She added in a statement on the “X” earlier Saturday: “The lives of civilians must be preserved, and humanitarian organizations must be able to provide them with vital supplies.”
The statement stressed that hospitals, markets, water supplies and other basic civilian services "are not a target."
The conflict broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15 of last year after disagreements over plans to integrate the latter into the army within the framework of an internationally supported political process that was supposed to end with elections.
The Sudanese army talks about a qualitative operation against the Rapid Support Forces, north of Khartoum
A senior military source in the Sudanese army told Al Jazeera that the army forces carried out a qualitative operation against the Rapid Support Forces in the Halfaya area, north of Khartoum Bahri.
The Sudanese army spokesman stated that the operation resulted in significant human and material losses among the ranks of the Rapid Support Forces, while the army announced the killing of 7 of its forces in addition to the injury of 28 others in the clashes that took place at the Halfaya Bridge.
The past few days witnessed clashes between the two parties in other areas of Khartoum, and Sudanese army aircraft launched raids on rapid support sites in some neighborhoods such as Al-Azhari and Soba.
In the west of the country, after bombing and bloody clashes that left large numbers of deaths, the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, has witnessed a cautious calm since the day before yesterday, Thursday.
Since May 10, the city of El Fasher has witnessed clashes between the army - which is supported by the forces of the armed movements that signed a peace agreement - and the Rapid Support Forces.
On the other hand, Politico newspaper reported that a number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers urged the administration of US President Joe Biden to change its policy towards Sudan, in light of the administration’s efforts to end the war that has been ongoing there for more than a year.
Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, World Health Organization
