Agence France-Presse quoted eyewitnesses today, Thursday, that the bodies of people wearing military uniforms were scattered in the streets of Omdurman (west of Khartoum) following battles that took place yesterday, Wednesday, between… Sudanese army AndRapid Support Forces.
Witnesses said they saw bodies dumped in the streets of the city center, some areas of which were witnessing fighting between the army and the Rapid Support.
Both warring parties confirmed that they inflicted heavy losses on the other party during the clashes that took place yesterday in Shatt Omdurman.
General Command of the Armed Forces
Wednesday, November 8, 2023 AD
Summary of the situation today..
Testimony of Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah..
The official spokesman for the armed forces pic.twitter.com/35ENcFsbfQ– Sudanese Armed Forces – Military Media (@GHQSudan) November 8, 2023
Sudanese army spokesman Nabil Abdullah said in an audio recording on the “X” website that “the armed forces inflicted huge losses on what he described as the ‘rebel militia’ in individuals and vehicles.”
Abdullah explained that the army was also able to inflict heavy losses on the Rapid Support Forces in the northern Bahri area of Khartoum, adding that the armed forces reassure citizens that they are capable of defeating what he described as rebellion.
For its part, the Rapid Support Forces published a video clip in which it said that it “repelled an army attack yesterday, Wednesday, from several directions in Omdurman.”
Today, Wednesday, our forces responded to an attack from several axes by the armed forces, supported by the brigades of the former regime in Omdurman.
Our forces inflicted heavy losses on the attackers, seized a large number of weapons and ammunition, 4 armored vehicles, and 11 combat vehicles with full military equipment, and captured hundreds of soldiers and alert personnel.
We confirm that we… pic.twitter.com/P6JWUSp5Q3
– Rapid Support Forces – Rapid Support Forces (@RSFSudan) November 8, 2023
The support forces said that they “inflicted heavy losses on the attacking forces and captured hundreds of soldiers.”
Last Sunday evening, 20 people were killed when shells fell on the popular Zaqalona market during an exchange of indiscriminate shelling in the area, according to the Sudanese human rights organization “Emergency Lawyers”.
Also in Omdurman, eyewitnesses reported that a shell fell on Al-Naw Hospital, killing a worker at the facility, which is located north of the city and is the last medical facility serving this area.
Darfur battles
On the other hand, the United Nations warned of intensifying fighting in the Darfur region (western Sudan) between the army and the Rapid Support as the war between them enters its seventh month.
Toby Harward, Deputy United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Darfur, said in his account on the “X” website that hundreds of thousands of civilians and displaced persons are now exposed to great danger in the city of El Fasher – the capital of North Darfur state – with the deteriorating security situation and the shortage of food and water.
Harward added that the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces are fighting for control of the city, warning that this will have disastrous repercussions for civilians.
The UN official’s statements come as reports indicate that the Rapid Support Forces are expanding their control in the Darfur region after taking control of the city of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and an army base in the city of El Geneina, the capital of South Darfur.
For its part, the US Embassy in Sudan expressed its concern about testimonies of serious human rights violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces, which included ethnic killings targeting the Masalit tribe in the Ardamta region of Western Darfur.
Witnesses who fled from Darfur to Chad spoke of the Rapid Support Forces and gunmen loyal to them executing dozens in the Ardamta region after the army withdrew from its base there.
Since mid-April, confrontations between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have resulted in the deaths of more than 10,000 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) organization concerned with counting conflict victims.
The fighting also caused the displacement and asylum of more than 6 million Sudanese, according to United Nations data.
