The recent skirmishes between Sudan’s army and paramilitary groups endanger civilians and relief work, the US warned on Saturday, urging fighters to avoid an assistance hub housing tens of thousands of people.
According to UN data, about 500,000 displaced individuals have taken asylum in Sudan’s Al-Jazirah state, with more than 86,000 of them residing in the state’s capital, Wad Madani.
However, fighting between Sudanese armed troops and the paramilitary Rapid Support troops (RSF) overran the city on Friday, prompting the United Nations to halt relief activities in the state “until further notice.”
“Wad Madani has become a safe haven for displaced civilians and is an important hub for international humanitarian relief efforts. A continued RSF advance risks mass civilian casualties and significant disruption of humanitarian assistance efforts,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“We urge the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan to cease their advance in Gezira State immediately and to refrain from attacking Wad Madani,” Miller said.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the fight between army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, began in April and has killed more over 12,190 lives.
According to UN data, about 5.4 million people are internally displaced, while approximately 1.3 million have migrated abroad.
For weeks, RSF forces had been moving down the highway from Khartoum to the north, 110 miles (180 kilometres).
Via Firstpost World Latest News https://ift.tt/5gQsTj7
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