El Fasher, May 2(Darfur 24)
Tens of thousands of civilians in the city of El Fasher, North Darfur, face an unknown fate if the Rapid Support Forces invade the city, in light of the lack of safe paths to exit the city surrounded by military siege.
The Sudanese army, the Rapid Support Forces, and the movements and militias allied with them have strengthened their readiness to fight bone-breaking battles in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, amid international concern about the fate of civilians stranded in the city.
In light of these tensions, the circle narrows even more to about 800,000 citizens residing in El Fasher, most of whom are displaced from Nyala, El Geneina, and Zalingei.
Difficulty moving
A number of citizens in the neighborhoods of El Fasher city expressed the difficulty of movement inside and outside the city due to the bases, gates, and strict procedures by the parties to the fighting.
Saleh Abdel Salam told “Darfur 24” that “he was forced to go to the Masnaa neighborhood, which is under the control of the Rapid Support Forces, to check on his father, who refused to leave the house.” He confirmed that he was beaten and interrogated by the army on his way back to the south of the city and accused of being spies for the Rapid Support Forces. He added: “If it were not for “Because I knew a high-ranking army officer, my fate would have ended in death.”
Dozens like Saleh face difficulty moving inside the city in light of the renewed battles with artillery shelling and air strikes.
Mansour Kamal al-Din, a citizen of the Al-Wahda neighborhood, told Darfur 24 that his brother was hit by a stray bullet near the Mellit parking lot in the middle of the Al-Fasher Al-Kabir market during skirmishes between the army and the Rapid Support, which made it difficult for him to return home and take shelter in a nearby building.
Safe paths
If battles intensify between the warring parties, civilians wishing to leave El Fasher will find only five exit routes, according to a number of citizens who spoke to Darfur 24.
The driver of the Nyala El-Fasher line, Drej Omar Saad, said that the safest road is the one leading from southern El-Fasher to the Katal administrative unit in Dar es Salaam locality. It is under the control of the joint force of the movements allied with the army and is used by buses traveling to Nyala and Bilil in South Darfur state, and to Sheeria, Khazan Jadid and El-Daein. In eastern Darfur.
Meanwhile, Samia Abdel Malik confirmed to “Darfur 24” the difficulty of safely exiting El Fasher via the Zamzam-Shangil Tobay road due to the deployment of unknown armed forces on the second route, which starts from Zamzam camp southwest of El Fasher, passing through “Goz Abzrika”, New Hilla, Shangil Tobay and Umm Drisai to reach the localities of Mershing and Al-Malam. And the Wanyala Cup in South Darfur.
She added: “These forces have been robbing citizens throughout the week, which has prompted bus owners and goods carriers to change their buses.”
According to Mayor Azraq Harun, who told Darfur 24, residents of the southern and western neighborhoods of El Fasher can leave for the cities of Tawila, Kabkabiya, and Kutum via the third route, where there are armed militias in parts of the Kulqi desert. However, due to the fears of civilians, they leave via the areas of Shaqra and Golo, which are considered relatively safe, especially since they are It received displaced people from the areas of Sarfaya, Jakhy, and the rest of the villages west of El Fasher.
For his part, activist in the El Fasher City Chamber, Ibrahim Abdullah Adam, told “Darfur 24” that the fourth route is located in the crosshairs of the Rapid Support Forces and the Joint Force of the Armed Movements, which is the El Fasher – Um Marahik – Mellit road. He said that the road is widespread with acts of armed looting and violence against civilians. .
It is noted that there are no cars and cargo trucks on the western Al-Fasher-Al-Komah rescue road, after the Rapid Support Forces took control of the road and the displacement of residents of the central and eastern neighborhoods of Al-Fasher to Al-Komah, Al-Maliha, and Umm Kadada. This route also falls under warplane raids and artillery shelling.
A volunteer with the Sudanese Red Crescent Society in North Darfur, Safaa Shams Al-Din, says that, through the society’s slogan, she was able to take a number of families out during the battles to the south of the city and treat wounded civilians, accompanied by a number of volunteers.
Concerns of the displaced people of Abu Shouk
Displaced people from Abu Shouk camp spoke of their fears that their lives would be in danger if battles broke out between the parties to the conflict, as the camp would fall into a cycle of clashes.
One of the sheikhs of Abshuk camp, Yahya Zakaria, said that they decided to remain inside the camp and not be displaced again, no matter how intense the battles between the warring parties became.
Darfur 24 reported that the presence of more than 5 shelter centers inside Abshuk camp makes leaving it difficult, despite its confirmation that dozens of its displaced people were killed and injured due to shells and stray bullets.
A displaced person from the city of Nyala in South Darfur state, Faiza Muhammad Ahmed, told Darfur 24 that her family was displaced four times during the war.
She added: “We fled from Nyala to Manwashi and from there to the Masnaa neighborhood in El Fasher, before we were forced to leave to the Darja neighborhood after the airstrikes bombed, and we settled in the southern shelter center.”
About 11,000 people were displaced from the city of Nyala to El Fasher, residing in 23 shelter centers, according to Muhammad Hassan, a member of the Shelter Initiative in El Fasher, who spoke to “Darfur 24.”
El Fasher received tens of thousands of displaced people from other Darfur cities, and nearly 73,000 people were displaced there from villages west of the city after the Rapid Support Forces carried out attacks on it.
The United Nations says that the violence in North Darfur poses an immediate danger to 800,000 civilians residing in El Fasher.