RSF attack on Wad Madani heightens tensions in Sudan war
▶ Thousands have fled their homes as fears grow over spread of violence
An attack by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on the city of Wad Madani is an ominous development in its war with the country’s military, analysts said.
The assault has increased concerns that southern and eastern regions of the country could be dragged into the eight-month conflict.
The RSF has been fighting against troops from the garrison in Wad Madani, capital of Al Jazirah state – Sudan’s breadbasket – since Friday.
The army used warplanes in an attempt to drive the paramilitary back from the city.
The violence forced thousands of people to flee their homes, joining the more than six million who have been displaced since the war broke out in April, the UN said.
The conflict has also created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with more than half of the country’s estimated 50 million people in need of assistance. About 1.3 million have sought refuge abroad.
The RSF said its attack on Wad Madani, about 190km south-east of Khartoum, was designed to prevent the army from using the area as a launching pad for an offensive. The army said the attack showed the paramilitary force was willing to put civilians in danger.
The military has assured Wad Madani’s residents that it is in control and urged them to stay at home.
Videos on social media purported to show RSF fighters inside the city. Other clips showed warplanes overhead as gunfire and explosions were heard in the background.
Hundreds of vehicles loaded with passengers have left the city since the attack began.
“Those running this country and everyone involved in this war are not worthy of respect,” said Hesham Abdel Malek, a resident of Wad Madani.
“They never took the side of the ordinary folks or helped us move to safer areas.”
The UN said 14,000 people fled the violence in the city at the weekend.
Al Jazirah state is home to about 500,000 civilians displaced by fighting, mostly from the capital.
Of these, an estimated 90,000 live in Wad Madani.
The area was being used as a centre for relief efforts, but the fighting has forced the UN humanitarian agency to suspend its work in Al Jazirah “until further notice”. More than 270,000 of Wad Madani’s 700,000 residents are dependent on humanitarian aid, the UN said.
The US State Department has called on the RSF to immediately cease its advance in Al Jazirah and to refrain from attacking Wad Madani.
Washington also urged the army to avoid clashes with the RSF and other actions that would endanger civilians.
Further conflict in the city risks mass civilian casualties and could cause significant disruption of aid work, the US said.
“This latest development will only result in the displacement of more civilians and deny them and others assistance,” said Sudanese political analyst
Abdul Rahman Al Hady. “The Rapid Support Forces have no political vision to guide it.”
He accused the group of looting and “terrifying people”.
The RSF’s forerunner is the Janjaweed militia, which is accused of committing war crimes in the state of Darfur during a civil war that raged in the western region in the 2000s. The militia group fought on the government’s side against ethnic African rebels.
The International Criminal Court said an investigation was under way into the allegations the paramilitary group and its allies killed ethnic Africans in western Darfur last summer.
The violence in Sudan also forced tens of thousands to flee across the border into neighbouring countries including Egypt and Chad.
Analysts said the capture of Wad Madani could herald further RSF incursions into eastern and southern Sudan, with the cities of Sennar, Kassala, Damazeen, Kosti and Qadaref among the potential targets for assaults.
“This is possibly the gravest moment in Sudan’s modern history. The country could break up,” said analyst Ashraf Abdul Baqi.
“The Rapid Support Forces may not be able to control the whole of Sudan, but their actions disrupt life.”
The latest escalation signals the unwillingness by both warring sides to stop fighting and is likely to delay or cause the cancellation of a meeting between army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and a representative of the RSF to discuss a permanent ceasefire.
The RSF already said its commander, Gen Mohamed Dagalo, would not attend the proposed meeting.
Neither the army nor the RSF have been able to gain the upper hand in the conflict.
More than 270,000 of Wad Madani’s 700,000 residents are dependent on humanitarian aid, the UN says