The Sudanese Army has announced the foiling of an attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan. The army stated that troops from the Sixth Infantry Division in Al Fasher thwarted a terrorist militia group’s attempt to infiltrate eastward from the city. Significant losses were inflicted upon the militias, with the army celebrating the successful defense.
In Am Dorman, Al Jazeera correspondent Osama Sayed Ahmed documented the extensive damage to the main market in the city due to armed clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces in recent days. Images show widespread looting of all the commercial shops within the market.
Last week, the Sudanese army advanced in the area of “Am Dorman Market” west of the capital, Khartoum, for the first time since the clashes with the Rapid Support Forces broke out in mid-April 2023. Communication services and the internet were disrupted in wide areas of the country for the second time this week.
Meanwhile, social media activists shared videos of Sudanese soldiers patrolling the market in Am Dorman amid fierce battles between the two parties. The Rapid Support Forces still control some areas in Am Dorman, including the Official Radio and Television Corporation.
Regarding the hunger crisis, the World Health Organization stated on Tuesday that 5 million people in Sudan are suffering from hunger. Peter Graff, a WHO representative in Sudan, highlighted that the ongoing conflict in the country for ten months has led Sudan into a significant humanitarian catastrophe. He pointed out the continued mass displacement of civilians as the conflict spreads to new areas, indicating that Sudan is witnessing the largest internal displacement crisis globally with 8 million people affected.
According to a joint analysis by 15 United Nations-affiliated organizations and regional institutions conducted in November last year, 5,830,000 people in Sudan were experiencing acute food insecurity between October and November 2023. Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a war that has claimed over 13,000 lives and resulted in more than 7 million displaced persons and refugees, as reported by the United Nations.
