The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) raided a town in northern Jezira State yesterday, December 14, encountering little if any opposition in the area.
The raid may have been carried out for reconnaissance purposes, or to obtain supplies by looting the area, or simply to extend RSF control. Multiple sources reported that the raiders arrived in a convoy consisting of about 20 vehicles.
Abu Guta is an administrative center and market town in the middle of a fertile agricultural area, 70 km due south of Khartoum. Until yesterday, it was a place of refuge for some people who had fled the conflict zones of Khartoum and Jebel Aulia.
“A force of 20 four-wheel drive vehicles deployed in the city and established positions after looting the market, the agricultural bank, the court, and the police department, as a result of which three police officers were injured,” said Emergency Lawyers, a human rights organization monitoring the conflict.
“We strongly condemn the RSF’s move to expand the scope of military operations to safe areas where thousands of civilians have taken refuge.” The group pointed out that there was no presence of the Sudan Armed Forces in Abu Guta.
The governor of the state, Al-Taher Ibrahim al-Khair, in remarks on Sudan TV, said that the state security committee held a lengthy meeting in response to the raid, in which they decided to send large military reinforcements to Abu Guta. He said his government would take measures to prevent the recurrence of RSF raids in areas bordering Khartoum State, without specifying what they were.
Several videos filmed in the area substantiate the reports of the RSF arrival.
According to the former governor of Jezira State, Abdullah Idris Al-Kaneen, a native of the area, the force consisted of 29 combat vehicles. They entered the city market yesterday morning and broke into the agricultural bank, and assaulted the police force in the city. After that, they posted troops throughout the town.
“The losses have not been counted yet but is certain that the bank was broken into and they looted goods and vehicles from some merchants. There is also information about the evacuation of the eastern quarter of its inhabitants,” said the former official in an interview with Radio Dabanga yesterday. Al-Kaneen and other sources also referred to unconfirmed reports of the death of a civilian at the hands of the RSF.
Arms trade flourishes in Jezira State
Meanwhile, in the SAF-controlled part of Jezira State, the small arms trade is flourishing, amid concerns about potential RSF attacks and crime. Sources from the region said that the army’s military intelligence forces have pursued some suspected gun dealers by raiding villages west of Wad Madani, the capital of the state.
The sources said that most of the weapons in the region come from Jebel Aulia and southern parts of Khartoum, which are controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. The guns, which are plentiful in RSF-controlled areas, are exchanged for fuel, which is more plentiful on army-controlled areas. It’s unclear if the sales are taking place in an organized manner—possibly involving one of the warring parties—or if they are merely individual operations for the purpose of financial gain.
In brief
The Sudan Armed Forces yesterday carried out airstrikes in Nyala, South Darfur, allegedly with barrel bombs, killing and wounding several people.
Organizers of the recent Cairo humanitarian conference have released a report on the outcomes and recommendations of the conference.
Following the recent IGAD summit, representatives of East African countries, the European Union, and other stakeholders held a meeting in New York, organized by the German and French UN missions, to discuss building on the outcomes of the IGAD summit. Annette Weber, the EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, shared this image of the meeting, referring to the recent IGAD summit as “encouraging” and saying the New York meeting aimed to unify efforts for peace.
Similarly, the UN Secretary-General issued a statement welcoming “encouraging developments” at the recent IGAD summit. However, he said he was “gravely concerned by the unwillingness of the parties—so far—to cease hostilities.” The summit, held in Djibouti, marked the first public engagement of the secretary-general's new Sudan envoy, former Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.
RSF, through its media team, issued a statement yesterday reiterating its “unwavering commitment” to participate in a proposed one-on-one summit between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF Commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, facilitated by IGAD. The statement came in the context of rumors that RSF would send its deputy commander to the meeting instead. RSF said these were false rumors spread by its enemies.
In West Darfur, humanitarian organizations carried out a cross-border operation from Chad to deliver health and nutrition supplies to Kulbus and Jabal Moon localities to cover the needs of around 50,000 people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Health organizations continue to grapple with outbreaks of measles, cholera, and dengue fever. Health services are non-existent in some areas affected by conflict. OCHA noted, “Attacks on health services and looting of supplies in transit as well as warehouses present a major challenge for continuity of operations.”
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