DST News: Fierce clashes in central Sudan have forced around 2,000 people to flee their homes in just three days, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Monday. The new wave of displacement is the latest consequence of a war that has battered Sudan for more than two years, killing tens of thousands and uprooting millions.
According to the IOM, families left several towns and villages around the Bara area in North Kordofan province between Friday and Sunday. The region, along with Darfur to the west, has recently become one of the main battlegrounds between Sudan’s army and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The conflict has intensified since the RSF’s capture of the strategic city of el-Fasher, which left hundreds dead and forced tens of thousands to seek safety in already overcrowded camps. Nearly 92,000 people have fled el-Fasher and nearby villages, the agency said.
The war erupted in 2023 after relations collapsed between the army and the RSF, once allies in Sudan’s post-2019 transitional process. The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced about 12 million. Aid groups warn the real death toll is likely far higher.
North Kordofan has seen repeated violence. In late October, RSF fighters attacked the town of Bara, killing at least 47 people, including women and children, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. Since Oct. 26, nearly 39,000 people have fled multiple towns in the province, many heading toward Khartoum, Omdurman and Sheikan.
On Monday, the RSF claimed its fighters entered the town of Babanusa in West Kordofan and were advancing toward the local army command. Local volunteers in the area reported fewer families arriving for aid meals, a possible sign that many residents had fled, though exact numbers are unclear.
Meanwhile in Darfur, the Sudan Doctors Network said the RSF has been collecting and disposing of bodies in el-Fasher, allegedly to hide evidence of killings. Satellite images reviewed last week appear to show bodies being gathered, burned and buried in mass sites after the RSF took control of the area. Analysts at the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab said the photos show fires that may involve the burning of human remains.
Source: AP
