CIVILIAN FORCED TO FLEE AS SUDAN’S RSF CAPTURES KEY ARMY STRONGHOLD OF EL-FULA

Thu 20 June 2024:

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of el-Fula, the capital of West Kordofan state, sources told Al Jazeera.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fought the RSF for several hours before withdrawing from the city, with the paramilitary group seizing government and military headquarters, the sources said on Thursday.

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said the capture of el-Fula was “significant”, being one of only two army bases in strategically located West Kordofan, with a power station.

القائد صالح الفوتي يعلن تحرير “الفولة” بالكامل من مليشيا البرهان وكتائب الإرها*بيين

Commander Salih al-Foti proudly announces the full liberation of Al-Fulla from the grip of the SAF militia and terrorist brigades#معركة_الديمقراطية #حراس_الثورة_المجيدة pic.twitter.com/xzpmz2PGVU

— Rapid Support Forces – قوات الدعم السريع (@RSFSudan) June 20, 2024

Centrally positioned, el-Fula affords access to regional and national borders. “So there are concerns the RSF would be able to have, not just more control of territory around the country, but also the power station there,” she said.

The army, meanwhile, had retreated to Babanusa, its one remaining base in the region. “If the RSF takes control of Babanusa as well, then that gives them more control of territory in the entire country, which they say is their goal,” said Morgan.

The assault on el-Fula, she said, was “not surprising”, given that the paramilitary group had repeatedly said they were targeting positions of the Sudanese army, not just in the Darfur region, but also elsewhere around the country.

The takeover of the army stronghold, which has led to more civilians fleeing their homes, came as medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, slammed the humanitarian response to one of the world’s “worst crises” in decades as “deeply inadequate”.

“There are extreme levels of suffering across the country, and the needs are growing by the day,” Christos Christou, international president of MSF, said on Thursday in a post on social media platform X.

The conflict, which began in April 2023, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 10 million people, making it the world’s worst internal displacement crisis, according to the United Nations.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid, despite warnings that millions are on the brink of starvation.

Rights groups and the United States have also accused the paramilitaries of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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