ALBAWABA - Intensified battles across the Wadi Madani area between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces outside the central city center, opening a new front in the 8-month raging war.
According to the United Nations, at least 14,000 people have fled the Wadi Madani area so far, and a few thousand have already reached other cities. Half a million people had sought refuge in Gezira, mainly from Khartoum.
There are reports of looting and damaging banks and the main markets in Wadi Madani by armed groups and citizens. The price of transportation has gone up alongside the prices of fuel reserves run low by the day.
"So many people have run away. We who remained are trapped inside our houses" Mohamed Babikir, a physician in Madani told the Guardian. There have been reports of heavy artillery and fighter jets over the city.
According to witnesses, Sudan's army, which has held the city since the beginning of the conflict, launched air strikes on RSF forces to the east of the city, the capital of Gezira state, as it attempted to push back the assault that began on Friday. The RSF responded with heavy ordnance, and witnesses saw RSF reinforcements moving in the direction of the fighting.
‼️The US calls on the RSF in #Sudan to refrain from attacking Wadi Madani & expresses concerns over renewed fighting in El Fasher, says @StateDeptSpox . pic.twitter.com/70Yohx44pn
— Hiba Nasr (@HibaNasr) December 16, 2023
The U.S. Department of State said in a statement urging the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan to cease their advance in Gezira State immediately and to refrain from attacking Wad Medani.
"Troubling reports indicate that elite RSF units have traveled to reinforce attacks in the direction of Wad Medani, actions that threaten vulnerable civilians in a manner inconsistent with RSF’s stated claims that it is fighting to protect Sudan’s people" State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said in the statement.
"Such advances undermine confidence in efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire and a negotiated end to the conflict. They gravely threaten vulnerable civilians. We join Sudanese human rights defenders in calling on the parties to stop firing from positions in or near IDP camps, or returning fire toward those positions, recklessly endangering civilian lives" Miller added.
