Battles, attacks, and communication blackout continue in Darfur

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Intense fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Thursday. After attacks on Zalingei in Central Darfur during the past days, residents fear for more violence to come. Most services are not working anymore in the South Darfur capital Nyala, where corpses still litter the main market. The RSF claims that agents of the Sudanese intelligence are distributing arms to civilians in the battered city of El Geneina in West Darfur, in order “to exterminate Arab tribes”.

In El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, soldiers of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) again clashed with RSF paramilitaries on Thursday, breaking a two-day calm in the city. On Monday, before a seven-day truce would come into effect in the evening, army and the RSF exchanged heavy gunfire and shelling in the North Darfur capital. 

The Radio Dabanga correspondent in the city reported that in particular in the eastern neighbourhoods of El Fasher, where the RSF is based, insecurity and fear persist among the residents .

She further noted a critical scarcity of life-saving medicines.

Traders at the markets struggle with declining sales due to cash shortages among the people, listener Sabah Ahmed said.

She complained about soaring commodity prices and called on the authorities to prioritise the payment of salaries payments, as many people have spent all their cash reserves.

Zalingei

The Zalingei Resistance Committees Coordination yesterday confirmed new attacks on Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, by large groups of gunmen riding on motorcycles on Monday. They said the attackers were supported by the RSF.

The repeated violence caused people to flee from the western part to the eastern part of the city. They fear more attacks to come, as happened in El Geneina

Last week, RSF-back gunmen attacked the base of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) near the Central Darfur capital and entered the city where they plundered banks, government buildings and offices of civil society organisations.

On Wednesday, researcher Edward (Eddie) Thomas tweeted a preliminary report on the situation in Zalingei, saying that the city is experiencing a communication blackout, as phone and internet services have been completely cut off after the attacks on Monday.

The report also expresses concern about the agricultural season that is about to begin.

No services in Nyala, corpses still not buried

Despite the cessation of battles between the army and the RSF since Sunday, people in the South Darfur capital confirm a complete work stoppage in the city.

Lawyer Salah El Limouni informed Radio Dabanga that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating, with hospitals rendered out of service. “People are being killed during the bombing and shelling, criminal gangs and soldiers encroach on public and private property and sexually assault women.”

A woman confirmed to Radio Dabanga that cases of rape have occurred during the battles.

Fighting that raged in Nyala in the past days has claimed the lives of 25 people and triggered a massive displacement from the city centre to southern neighbourhoods and nearby areas outside the city.

Concerned residents reported that there are still corpses lying on the streets of the Grand Market. “They have been lying there for the past five days,” Ahmed Haroun told Radio Dabanga. “They are now emitting a strong odour that permeates the surroundings.”

He further said that the prolonged closure of banks has exacerbated the people’s suffering. “In addition, the scarcity of bread has resulted in tripled prices, causing further hardship.”

Communications

Sudani network provider announced that its network in Darfur has been impacted by the ongoing violence in the region.

Partial damage has been reported at the company’s site in Nyala, resulting in service interruption in certain areas. However, the main operating devices of the network have remained unaffected by the damage.

‘Arabs’

Hafiz El Zein, RSF strategic affairs advisor has accused Military Intelligence and security forces in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, of distributing weapons to civilians with the aim of transforming “the political conflict into a ethnic one”.

He told Radio Dabanga yesterday that “the intelligence agencies aim to classify the population into Arab and non-Arab groups” and accused them of “arming non-Arab tribes to exterminate Arab tribes”. He asserted that concrete evidence exists to support these claims.

In response to these allegations, the governor of West Darfur, Khamees Abakar, said in a statement yesterday that the RSF and affiliated gunmen were implicated in the fierce attacks on El Geneina in the beginning of May.

The infamous Janjaweed militiamen and, since 2013, RSF paramilitaries were recruited from ‘Arab herders tribes’ in Darfur, in particular the Rizeigat, to which RSF Commander-in-Chief Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo belongs. Supported by the Sudanese army, these militant tribesmen attacked villages of ‘non-Arab, black African tribes’ in Darfur since civil war broke out in the region in early 2003.

The last couple of years, young men from ‘African origin’, including Nuba in South and West Kordofan, driven by poverty, also joined the RSF. It is a well-known fact that the paramilitaries are better paid than army officers and soldiers.