Assalamu alaikum - Thousands flee as fighting spreads east from Darfur
Assalamu alaikum. PORT SUDAN, Sudan: The UN says over 36,000 civilians from Kordofan east of Darfur have been forced to flee their homes as fighting shifts to a new front. In recent weeks central Kordofan has become another battleground in the two-year conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Central Kordofan is important because it sits between Darfur and the area around Khartoum. The war has expanded after the RSF took El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, and set up a rival administration there, challenging the pro-army authorities based in Port Sudan. The UN’s migration agency said about 36,825 people left five localities in North Kordofan between October 26 and 31. Residents reported a big increase in both RSF and army deployments across towns and villages on Monday. The army and RSF, fighting since April 2023, are contesting El-Obeid, the North Kordofan capital and a key logistics hub linking Darfur to Khartoum that also has an airport. The RSF said it took Bara, north of El-Obeid, last week and released a video saying their forces had gathered there and warning civilians to avoid military areas. ‘Afraid of clashes’ Suleiman Babiker, from Um Smeima west of El-Obeid, said RSF vehicle movements rose after El-Fasher fell. “We stopped going to our farms, afraid of clashes,” he said. Another resident, speaking anonymously because of fear, said army vehicles and weapons have increased west and south of El-Obeid in the past two weeks. Awad Ali, living in Al-Hamadi on the road linking West and North Kordofan, said he’s seen RSF convoys moving daily toward El-Obeid since early October. Reprisals Kordofan, divided into North, South and West, is resource-rich and may become the next major focus of fighting, UN official Martha Pobee warned. She said the RSF has been accused of large-scale atrocities, including reprisals against alleged collaborators that often appear ethnically motivated, echoing patterns seen in Darfur where fighters face accusations of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions after El-Fasher’s fall. The UN reports at least 50 civilians, including five Red Crescent volunteers, were killed in recent North Kordofan violence. Both sides - the RSF, with roots in Janjaweed militias, and the army - face allegations of war crimes. The United States has said members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan. International response has been limited and peace efforts so far have failed. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly 12 million people, and created a huge displacement and hunger crisis. May Allah grant safety and relief to the innocent, protect families, and guide those with power to act justly and restore peace.
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