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Region had been a place of refuge for those escaping conflict in Khartoum between the army and the Rapid Support Forces
Thousands of people are fleeing their homes in Wad Madani, Sudan’s second city, where the majority of the capital city Khartoum’s displaced people took refuge at the beginning of the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces last April.
The fighting reached Wad Madani, the capital city of el-Gezira state, home to Africa’s biggest agricultural scheme, in central Sudan on Friday. People have been seen on buses, while some are walking towards the south.
There are reports of looting and damaging banks and the main markets in Madani by armed groups and citizens. The price of transportation has gone up alongside that of fuel.
Mohamed Babikir, a physician in Madani, said people were hiding inside their houses because of the intense street fighting. “So many people have run away,” he said. “We who remained are trapped inside our houses.” There have been reports of heavy artillery and fighter jets over the city.