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On Friday evening, the authorities in El Gezira issued a curfew between 18:00 and 6:00, following attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on areas near the state capital Wad Madani. Dozens of people have been injured in Abu Haraz. People living and sheltering in the city are fleeing in vast numbers. A military strategist described the RSF attacks as “unsystematic”.
Today, fighting between the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) near the El Gezira capital continued, causing more panic and fear among the people, as the battles moved towards the Hantoub Bridge, which connects the eastern and western parts of Wad Madani.
The RSF troops received military reinforcements from their bases near and in Khartoum, Sudan Tribune reported today.
At about 8:00 yesterday morning, fierce fighting between the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) broke out in the vicinity of Abu Haraz, about 10 kilometres north of Wad Madani. RSF paramilitaries also attempted to infiltrate fuel and gas depots in the area of Um Alila village, east of the city.
A resident of Wad Madani told Radio Dabanga that several houses in the Abu Haraz area have been severely damaged by the fighting. A medic reported that an unknown number of people were killed and wounded in the battles.
The sources said that explosions and sounds of aerial bombardments by the SAF and anti-aircraft missiles launched by the RSF were heard from the area of Abu Haraz on Friday morning, whereupon the roads to the capital of El Gezira and the Hantoub Bridge were closed by the authorities. The battles did not reach the city.
The SAF announced in a press statement yesterday that the air force inflicted heavy losses on the RSF, which prevented them from moving towards Wad Madani.
The army stated that “the Hantoub Bridge was closed within the framework of security measures” and described the situation in the city as “under control” and “safe”.
The RSF in a statement yesterday that they “would like to reassure people throughout the state of El Gezira, especially in Wad Madani, that their goal is “to destroy the strongholds of the El Burhan militia and the terrorist remnants of the former regime, which represent legitimate targets”.
Until Thursday, El Gezira was considered a safe haven by the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled and are still fleeing the violence in Khartoum. On Thursday morning, however, an RSF unit invaded Abu Gouta in the northwestern part of El Gezira. The paramilitaries plundered the Sudanese Agricultural Bank, took control of the town’s police station, and set up posts in a number of neighbourhoods.