El Fasher , Feb22 (Darfur 24) At least 13 people were killed and 20 others were injured, in fierce clashes between the Rapid Support Forces RSF and a tribal militia, in the Umm Kadada area, about 80 kilometers east of the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
The army withdrew from its base in Umm Kadada locality to the city of El Fasher, after violent battles, leading to the Rapid Support Forces who took control of the city.
Eyewitnesses told “Darfur 24” that fierce clashes broke out in the Umm Kadada area between the Rapid Support Forces and the Shuqara Civil Forces, since Thursday morning and continued until the evening.
Citizen Saleh Hamdeen from Umm Kadada revealed to “Darfur 24” that “13 members of the two teams were killed, while more than 20 others were injured and were taken to Umm Kadada Rural Hospital.”
He pointed out that the causes of the conflict are related to the Rapid Support Forces’ harassment of the Shuqara Armed Forces and the people of the Umm Kadada locality, so that the militia was able to control the area after the Rapid Support Forces withdrew from it.
Most of the Shugara fighters come from the Berti tribe, a militia believed to have been founded by the former governor of North Darfur, Othman Kibar, during his conflict with the leader of the Mahamid tribe, Musa Hilal. It also participated in the civil conflict between Berti and Al-Ziyadia.
The editor-in-chief of the Armed Forces newspaper, Colonel Ibrahim Al-Houri, said on his Facebook account that a fierce battle had taken place between the Berti tribe and the Rapid Support Forces, where the former was able to expel the latter from the area.
The Rapid Support Forces are seeking to control the army headquarters in El Fasher, which is the only remaining armed force in the Darfur region, while the latter is trying to provide for it in various ways.