Published: July 18, 2023 2:07 pm
Author: RT
Displaced locals tell RT that the unceasing hostilities have worsened the country’s humanitarian situation in the camps where they live
The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have said they seized a town in South Darfur amid reports of intense clashes, looting, and a new wave of displacement across the country.
In a statement on Sunday, the RSF claimed a “major victory” over the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), adding that it now has “full control” of the army’s 61st Brigade in Kas, a district within the South Darfur region.
“The RSF has captured 13 combat vehicles, 70 cannons, the colonel in charge of the brigade, and 30 other SAF personnel,” it said. The Sudanese army has yet to comment on the claims.
Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Office (UNHCR) accused the RSF of murdering dozens of people in West Darfur, including ethnic Masalit, and burying them in a shallow grave. The militia has denied the allegations.
A drone strike at the weekend on a hospital in Omdurman, near Khartoum, allegedly by paramilitary forces, killed at least four civilians and injured several others, a local journalist told RT.
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Meanwhile, the RSF announced on Monday that it conducted a “surprise operation” at the Wadi Sayedna base in Omdurman, destroying SAF warplanes.
The conflict that erupted in Khartoum in mid-April between the RSF and SAF has killed more than 3,000 people, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, while the UN reports that more than two million people have been displaced.
Locals living in a displaced persons camp in Wad Madani, 186 kilometers south of the capital, told RT that access to medical supplies and personnel for treatment has become increasingly difficult. Others who fled to neighboring Libya said they were struggling to find food and that humanitarian organizations have abandoned them.
Heavy fighting continues in several parts of Sudan, despite regional and international mediation efforts to persuade the warring factions to lay down their arms.
