Renewed clashes erupted this Thursday morning between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) south of the capital Khartoum and in El Fasher, the capital of the Darfur region (west) ,Meanwhile, Arab countries have called on both sides to cease the ongoing war.
The Sudanese army reported that its special forces in the Al-Shajara military area inflicted significant casualties on the RSF in southern Khartoum. The army released photos showing its special forces displaying a fully armed combat vehicle among other equipment seized from the RSF.
In the locality of Karari, north of Omdurman, the Coordination Committee of Resistance Committees reported that local neighborhoods were subjected to heavy artillery shelling by the RSF.
The New York Times cited Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which reported that over 40 villages near El Fasher have been burned since April, with some intentionally destroyed. More than 20,000 buildings have been destroyed since the RSF took control of the eastern neighborhoods of El Fasher.
Conversely, the RSF accused what it called the “terrorist militia of Burhan” and the “extremist Islamic movement” of killing 50 citizens on racial grounds in Village 32 in Umm Qurra County, Gezira State, central Sudan. The RSF’s statement condemned what it described as a racially motivated crime, as most of the victims were from specific regions in Sudan.
Politically, Arab countries on Wednesday called for an end to the war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which has been ongoing for over a year, urging a return to dialogue. This appeal was made in a speech by Saudi Arabia and another on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries during an interactive dialogue held by the Human Rights Council on the situation in Sudan.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also urged both sides of the conflict to cease fire in Sudan.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), have been engaged in a conflict that has resulted in approximately 15,000 deaths and about 8.5 million displaced persons and refugees.
11 bodies were recovered, and 160 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya