KHARTOUM: Thousands of Sudanese have crossed into Chad to flee fighting in the western region of Darfur and thousands more streamed out of the capital Khartoum on Thursday, where renewed heavy gunfire erupted after the latest of several ceasefires broke down.
Forces commanded by two previously allied leaders of Sudan’s ruling council began a violent power struggle last weekend that has so far killed more than 330 people, tipping a nation reliant on food aid into what the United Nations calls a humanitarian catastrophe.
The fiercest battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been around Khartoum, one of Africa’s largest urban areas, and in Darfur, still scarred by a brutal conflict that ended three years ago.
Around 10,000 to 20,000 people fleeing the fighting have taken refuge in villages along the border inside Chad, UN refugee agency UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday.
The US plans to deploy forces in Djibouti for evacuation of embassy staff from Khartoum
Eyewitnesses in the city of El Obeid, east of Darfur, described clashes between the army and paramilitary forces and widespread looting.
In the capital and sister cities Omdurman and Bahri, residents gathered at bus terminals with suitcases after more explosions and gunfire in the morning.
“There’s no food, supermarkets are empty, the situation isn’t safe, honestly, so people are leaving,” said Khartoum resident who gave only his first name, Abdelmalek. Many other locals remain trapped, along with thousands of foreigners, in a city rapidly degenerating into a war zone.
US deployment
The United States is deploying forces in Djibouti to prepare for the possible evacuation of American embassy staff in Sudan as rival factions battle in Khartoum, the Pentagon said on Thursday. “We are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US embassy personnel from Sudan,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2023
