Sudan: 3 Million in Mass Exodus From North Darfur Capital

The escalating ground offensive and shelling in battles between the (Sudanese Armed Forces) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in and around the North Darfur capital of El Fasher over the past week, has resulted in a new humanitarian emergency, as ‘at least three million’ displaced civilians have fled westwards, and are overwhelming resources in the Tawila and Jebel Marra areas.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, the stream of newly displaced, and mostly re-displaced people includes at least half a million former residents of Zamzam camp, which has been effectively obliterated. Untold hundreds have died, thousands injured, in what commentators have termed ‘the final catastrophe’ for the camp. Graphic evidence is provided in a report published last week by the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at the Yale School of Public Health, with satellite imagery showing the effects of fires and destruction caused by artillery shelling and drone attacks.

The civilian authority in the areas controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW), which controls Tawila and large parts of Jebel Marra to the west of the capital, as well as Nierteti in Central Darfur, have declared a state of humanitarian emergency in the areas.

The head of the SLM-AW civil authority, Mujiburahman El Zubair, told Radio Dabanga yesterday that “the crisis exceeds the resources and capabilities of the movement, the civil authority and the host community,” noting that the number of displaced people flowing into the area is constantly increasing.

Millions displaced

El Zubair estimates the influx to be at least 3.3 million people from El Fasher, and the peripheral Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps. In an interview with Radio Dabanga, he says that that “between 250 and 400 displaced people have been arriving in areas controlled by the movement every hour since April 4.

“The arrive in rickety vehicles, carts, or on foot, in dire humanitarian conditions,” he says. “Most of the displaced are women, children, and seniors. At least 500 are unaccompanied children. Many people died of hunger and thirst during the journey, while, others report being raped before leaving El Fasher,” pointing to cases of rape of girls and ill-treatment of seniors “to pressure them to provide information about the situation in El Fasher.

He laments that food and water are scarce, and appealed to organisations to provide mechanisms to dig wells and vehicles to transport water to the displaced. He also highlights the urgent need for food, healthcare, and sanitation, and said that the displaced are compelled relieve themselves in the open, which could trigger a major health disaster.

El Zubair, called on the international community and organisations “to assume their responsibilities and intervene urgently to rescue the displaced and provide them with assistance”. El Zubair says that his authority has organised community convoys to provide support to the newly displaced, he said.

UN

The humanitarian crisis is further corroborated in a separate statement on Sunday by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, who confirms that the most recent hostilities “have pushed an estimated 400,000-450,000 people toward Tawila, areas surrounding Jebel Marra, and further. These population movements are increasingly fluid, unpredictable, and fuelled by ongoing hostilities and fears of a broader offensive on El Fasher. The situation is further compounded by rising levels of food insecurity, with displaced populations increasingly cut off from supply chains and assistance, placing them at heightened risk of epidemic outbreaks, malnutrition and famine.”

Nkweta-Salami says that despite repeated appeals, humanitarian access to El Fasher and surrounding areas remains seriously restricted, and called for UN actors and NGOs to be granted immediate and sustainable access to these areas to ensure the safe and widespread delivery of life-saving support.

SAF asks civilians to say in El Fasher

The command of the Sixth Infantry Division of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has appealed to civilians not to leave El Fasher “for their own safety,” noting that the situation in and around the city is still “unstable”.

In a report on Sunday, it accuses the Rapid Support Forces of “humanitarian abuses” against them, represented in beatings and blocking roads, especially for those who tried to leave the city. Radio Dabanga has approached the RSF for comment on the allegations.

By Dabanga.