Sudan's prolonged conflict, pitting the country's armed forces against paramilitary units for control of political power, has extended its reach to a town in the southern region, prompting thousands to seek refuge elsewhere, as reported by residents on Monday (local time). The clashes involve the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army.
Residents have disclosed that RSF fighters, on numerous armed vehicles, launched an attack on the town of Wad Ashana, located on the border between North Kordofan and White Nile states, on September 30.
Al-Tayeb Abdelbaqi, speaking from El Odaydab, a town situated 10 kilometers away where he eventually found shelter, recounted the ordeal, saying, "My neighbor and my cousin were both killed in the crossfire. It was hours of terror."
Although there have been no verified casualty figures from the conflict in Wad Ashana, Abdelbaqi mentioned that "there are still bodies lying on the side of the road, and we don't know who they are." He called on health organizations to attend to the deceased.
Similar scenes have unfolded in various parts of Sudan, with volunteers frequently forced to excavate mass graves, leading to concerns that the actual death toll far surpasses reported figures.
As of early September, the war between Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, which commenced on April 15, had claimed the lives of nearly 7,500 people, according to a conservative estimate from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project.
While the most intense violence has centered in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, North Kordofan, serving as a pivotal crossroads between the capital and Darfur, has also witnessed hostilities. The conflict has resulted in the displacement of nearly 4.3 million individuals within Sudan, in addition to approximately 1.2 million who have fled across international borders.
Numerous families, like Abdelbaqi's, fled to preserve their lives but left behind all their possessions, finding refuge in local schools. Ahmed, another resident, who once owned a store in Wad Ashana, explained, "We left with only the clothes on our backs." He added that the local market had been "completely looted," echoing allegations made following RSF attacks across Sudan since the commencement of the conflict.
Footage disseminated on social media by the RSF on October 1 claimed to show fighters "taking over the Wad Ashana garrison in North Kordofan and advancing towards Kosti," the final major town on the route to South Sudan. According to UN data, South Sudan has received over 270,000 refugees since the war's inception.
As of now, the Sudanese Armed Forces have not issued any statements regarding the situation in the Wad Ashana region. According to Abdelbaqi, the area had largely been spared from conflict until last week when "an army force set up camp west of town." Three days later, "the RSF attacked the city, completely overtaking it and pushing the army" 35 kilometers east.
Sudan, already one of the world's most impoverished nations, has experienced a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the war, leaving millions on the brink of famine and facilitating the spread of diseases, according to the United Nations.
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