Int’l call to halt North Darfur bombardments

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has expressed ‘deep concern’ about the ongoing conflict and related humanitarian catastrophe in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, and called on the warring parties to immediately halt attacks on the city.

In a statement yesterday, UNSC members lament that the attack that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intend to launch on the city puts the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk, noting that these civilians essentially fled with their lives from other areas.

The statement called on both parties to the conflict to adhere to their duties based on international humanitarian law, stop hostilities, and end this conflict.

They also urged some other countries in the region and elsewhere to stop supplying weapons to the parties to the conflict and to abide by UNSC resolutions prohibiting the export of weapons to Sudan.

The messaging is echoed by Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairperson of the commission of the African Union (AU), and Samantha Powers, administrator of USAID, in separate statements denouncing the alarming deterioration by the belligerents in El Fasher and cessation of hostilities around the city. Both demand the cessation of foreign interference in supplying the belligerents which violates UN Security Council sanctions.

The United Arab Emirates have also released a statement expressing deep concerns over the heightened tensions in North Darfur though the country has faced numerous allegations from the Sudanese government and the UN about its role supplying weapons to the RSF in Sudan’s war.

El Fasher is witnessing a deterioration in the security situation, and skirmishes continue between the army and the RSF in the northern and northeastern parts of the city. The northern and eastern neighbourhoods of El Fasher are almost devoid of residents.

Sources told Radio Dabanga from El Fasher, tension has become the dominant situation, at a time when the city’s markets are witnessing severe shortages of goods and an increase in their prices after the RSF took control of Mellit two weeks ago, which reduced the flows of goods that were coming to it.

Security deteriorating

A listener told Radio Dabanga from El Fasher that the security situation is not stable, and so far there are skirmishes here and there morning and evening, and the situation is tense. He adds that we still hear gunfire in northern El Fasher, and the majority of the population fled towards the south of the city. RSF paramilitaries are constantly infiltrating in the northeastern areas of the city, and the army is responding.

He explained that the RSF are based in northern El Fasher and that the army also has bases to provide protection for the city and called on both parties to heed the voice of reason and so that peace prevails throughout Sudan.

High prices

There is a large shortage of goods after the RSF took control of Mellit town in North Darfur on April 15, the source said. “The flow of goods has decreased and the prices of goods and foodstuffs have increased significantly several times. The tariffs of transportation have increased”.

He added that the prices of fuel and also of water doubled. “We now pay SDG 4,000 to SDG 5,000 for a barrel of water, which doubled the suffering of the people in obtaining drinking water.

There are only three health centres still operating in the northern neighbourhoods, he said. Health centres in the south of the city are overcrowded, in particular because they have organised a child vaccination campaign. This caused families to crowd together and rush to vaccinate their children. He confirmed that treatments for chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes are almost non-existent and are not available in most centres. They are available in some pharmacies, but their prices are high and people’s economic conditions are very difficult and they cannot buy medicines.

A year without pay

Most employees in the health sector work as volunteers to help patients, and volunteers are still providing services, with salaries having not been disbursed for a full year. “Even these centres will close their doors soon if they are not supported, and there is no official body or organisations that provide materials,” the source said.

“Despite the shooting, medical personnel continue their work to save what can be saved.”

The centres ask the patients’ companions to pay SDG1,000. “With these proceeds, fuel is bought for the generators and some medical supplies to treat the patients.” The source said that the medical teams in the north of El Fasher are Egyptian to ensure that the northern health centres do not stop working.

US warning

The USA called on all armed groups in Sudan to immediately stop attacks on the North Darfur capital. The US State Department expressed its concern about indicators of an imminent attack by the RSF and affiliated gunmen on El Fasher via spokesperson Matthew Miller, who said on Wednesday that any attack on El Fasher would expose civilians to severe danger, including hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have taken refuge there.

The statement added that the USA expresses its deep concern over credible reports that the RSF and its affiliated militias have leveled multiple villages west of El Fasher. The statement also condemned what it described as the indiscriminate aerial bombardment reported in the region by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which the statement said continues to impose restrictions on the access of life-saving humanitarian aid.

The statement explained that the leaders of the Sudanese army, the RSF and their affiliated militias face only two options – either escalate the violence and perpetuate the suffering of their people while risking the disintegration of their country, or stop the attacks, allow unhindered access to humanitarian aid, and prepare in good faith for negotiations to end this war and return power to the Sudanese people.