Witnesses claim that residents of the southwestern Sudanese city of Kadugli started to escape the area on Thursday as hostilities between the army and a strong rebel group threatened to expand the current war in the nation.
Following nearly ten weeks of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum, there has been mobilization around Kadugli, the seat of South Kordofan state, and an intensification of hostilities in Darfur.
According to US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee before a congressional hearing in Washington, the US and Saudi Arabia suspended the negotiations they had been coordinating in Jeddah.
After a string of ceasefire agreements were broken, she declared, “The format is not succeeding in the way that we want.”
More than 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes since the war began in the middle of April, and it has the potential to destabilize other nations that are already struggling with violence, poverty, and economic difficulties.
Residents reported that the RSF used anti-aircraft weapons in response to government airstrikes in regions of southern Omdurman and Khartoum on Thursday morning.
Western escalation
The army charged on Wednesday that the Abdelaziz al-Hilu-led SPLM-N rebel group, which governs portions of South Kordofan state, violated a long-standing cease-fire agreement by attacking an army unit in the city.
The army claimed it had repelled the onslaught but had suffered losses.
The primary oil fields of Sudan are located in South Kordofan, which also borders South Sudan and West Darfur State.
According to locals, both the SPLM-N and the RSF attacked the army on Wednesday in the South Kordofan city of al-Dalanj. Both organizations have strong ties to South Sudan.
Residents of Kadugli reported that on Thursday, as the SPLM-N was congregating in regions on the outside, the army had redeployed personnel to secure its positions in the city.
They claimed that there were shortages of food and medical supplies along with power and communication failures.
The West Darfur city of El Geneina has been the hardest hit by the violence that has erupted in Darfur as a result of the war.
After deploying throughout the city on Thursday, the army and the RSF engaged in intense combat in Al Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, particularly near the main market, according to witnesses.
In recent days, there have also been skirmishes between the army and RSF in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur and one of Sudan’s largest cities. These clashes have occurred amid blackouts in communications and energy. Following locally negotiated cease-fires, both cities had been rather tranquil.
Reuters
