SUDAN’S RSF CLAIMS CONTROL OVER A KEY CITY IN SOUTHEAST AMID ONGOING CONFLICT

Sun 30 June 2024:

Paramilitary forces engaged in a prolonged battle with Sudan’s army have announced the capture of a crucial state capital in the country’s southeast. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) declared on Saturday that they have taken control of the 17th Infantry Division in Singa, the capital of Sennar state.

Hiba Morgan of Al Jazeera, reporting from Khartoum, noted that the RSF is progressively seizing more territories, particularly in the southern and eastern regions of Sudan. “They already control a large portion of the Darfur region, with the exception of el-Fasher, which remains under the army’s control,” she said.

The Sudanese army has not disputed the RSF’s claim over the 17th Infantry Division but maintains that their forces are still present in Singa and continue to fight. Civilians have witnessed clashes and many have started fleeing the city since Saturday.

مشاهد من تحرير اشاوس الدعم السريع للفرقة 17 مشاة سنجة ورئاسة ولاية سنار

Scenes depicting the courageous RSF soldiers, liberation of the 17th Senga Infantry Division, and the Sennar State headquarters. #معركة_الديمقراطية #حراس_الثورة_المجيدة pic.twitter.com/8P0mlP27xX

— Rapid Support Forces – قوات الدعم السريع (@RSFSudan) June 29, 2024

Millions Displaced

Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a conflict between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The war has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, displaced millions, and created one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

The RSF’s recent advance brings them closer to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where the army, government, and United Nations agencies are currently based. The RSF now controls most of Khartoum, Gezira state in central Sudan, the vast western region of Darfur, and much of Kordofan to the south.

Sennar state, already home to over one million displaced people, serves as a crucial link between central Sudan and the army-controlled southeast. Social media posts and witness accounts report thousands fleeing Singa, seeking refuge on the east bank of the Blue Nile river.

Additionally, RSF forces are besieging el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, in an attempt to capture it. The ongoing conflict has exacerbated food insecurity, with nearly 26 million people in Sudan facing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to a global hunger monitor.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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