The Sudanese situation worsens… Warring parties fight over weapon and fuel depots in Khartoum
Fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces escalated sharply yesterday around the Yarmouk Arms and Ammunition Complex belonging to the army in the area of south Khartoum, near fuel and gas depots that are in danger of exploding.
An Agence France-Presse report quoted witnesses as saying that a market in Omdurman was targeted by shelling, resulting in the death of 12 civilians and the destruction of buildings and property.
Residents said that the Sudanese army is fighting to defend an industrial military complex believed to contain large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in southern Khartoum, near fuel and gas depots that are at risk of exploding, according to Reuters.
According to the same source, the Rapid Support Forces are engaged in a power struggle against the army, for the eighth week, and attacked the area that includes the Yarmouk compound late on Tuesday evening, before withdrawing after fierce fighting. The clashes continued until Wednesday morning.
The incident coincided with aerial bombardment by the army’s air force on areas south of Omdurman city, which left a number of civilians dead and wounded, according to a statement by the region’s resistance committee.
“Fighting has raged in the three major cities of the capital, Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman, since a 12-day ceasefire officially ended on 3 June, after being repeatedly violated.”
The UN Mission in the Sudan (UNAMID) said in a press release that clashes continued between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and that the situation in the 3 cities of the Sudanese capital (Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri) is of great concern.
In a briefing on the state of war in the country issued yesterday, she added that the situation in the western, central and northern Darfur regions continued to deteriorate, affecting civilians, including women and children, many of whom were trapped between the warring parties.
“The conflict has wreaked havoc on the capital, sparking fresh waves of violence in the country’s long-troubled western Darfur region, which has displaced more than 1.9 million people.”
“Most health services have collapsed, electricity and water supplies have frequently been cut off, and looting has spread.”
The Sudan Doctors Committee said that 18 doctors have been shot dead or are stranded in their homes since the outbreak of the war in mid-April.
“More than 1.428 million people have been displaced from their homes inside Sudan, and 476,800 have fled to neighboring countries, most of which are already suffering from poverty and internal conflict, according to estimates released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday.”
“The Sudanese Ministry of Health recorded at least 780 civilian deaths as a result of the conflict, while hundreds more were killed in the town of El Geneina in West Darfur State.”
