The army of Sudan declared on Tuesday that its forces had left Wad Madani following a large-scale civilian evacuation, with some having previously been displaced during the eight-month conflict, as a result of the opposition paramilitary group’s push into the city.
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary troops have gained strength in recent weeks, strengthening their hold on the huge Darfur area and capturing additional ground that stretches eastward toward Khartoum, the capital.
The country’s capital, Khartoum, is around 170 kilometres southeast of the major city of Wad Madani, which serves as a shelter and distribution center for internally displaced people. El Gezira, the state capital, is a major agricultural region in a country where hunger is becoming worse.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), up to 300,000 people have left the area since the RSF entered the city on Monday.
A social media video from Tuesday appeared to show a big office building in Wad Madani in flames. An RSF fighter claimed that the building was a bank that had been attacked by the army.
Another video showed RSF fighters in a storeroom stacked with weapons and ammunition.
“The Rapid Support Forces are spread out in the streets of Wad Madani, on trucks and motorbikes, firing in celebration, and army aircraft are striking some districts,” resident Ahmed Adel told newsmen.
“People are in a state of fear and panic and are fleeing in large numbers.”
The RSF, a hardened force that grew out of militias the army deployed two decades ago to brutally suppress an insurgency in Darfur, has held most of Khartoum since the early days of the war.
There are concerns that Sudan, which is the third-largest country in Africa by area, may break apart because the army, which has planes but no effective infantry, controls eastern and northern Sudan.
Locals claim there have been numerous civilian casualties as a result of army airstrikes. The reports that army planes are hitting populated areas in north and south Darfur severely concern the U.S. State Department, which stated as much on Tuesday.
In a statement, the army stated that inquiries were underway into the causes of its forces’ withdrawal from Wad Madani.
The RSF stated it will provide Wad Madani residents with protection and essential services. The RSF has been accused of extensive looting, rapes, and detentions in Khartoum and other towns.
A planned shift towards civilian control had led to weeks of tensions over the army’s and the RSF’s powers, which culminated in conflict in mid-April in Sudan.
Before working together to stage a coup in 2021, the rivals had shared power with political parties after a public uprising in 2019.
In addition to causing a serious humanitarian crisis, the fighting turned Khartoum into a battle zone and set off a wave of ethnically motivated killings in Darfur.
More than 1.5 million people have crossed into neighboring countries as a result of the conflict, according to the IOM, which reported on Tuesday that over 7 million people had left their homes.
