KHARTOUM: Residents of Wad Ashana, a town on the border between North Kordofan and White Nile states in southern Sudan, have reported mass exodus following attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the weekend. Witnesses confirmed that RSF fighters, equipped with dozens of armed vehicles, assaulted the town, forcing thousands to flee in fear for their lives.
Al-Tayeb Abdelbaqi, a survivor who sought refuge in El Odaydab, a town 10 kilometers away, described the harrowing experience. “My neighbor and my cousin were both killed in the crossfire. It was hours of terror,” he said, detailing the horrors faced during the attack. Several families, including Abdelbaqi’s, are now sheltering in schools, having abandoned their homes and belongings to escape the violence.
The conflict between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has raged on since April 15, claiming nearly 7,500 lives by early September, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project. While the worst of the violence has been concentrated in Khartoum and the western region of Darfur, North Kordofan, acting as a vital crossroads between the capital and Darfur, has also witnessed intense fighting.
Violent Conflict Spreading to More Parts of Sudan
Wad Ashana, previously spared from conflict, fell victim to escalating tensions last week when an army force established a camp west of the town. Three days later, RSF forces attacked, overwhelming the city and forcing the army to retreat eastward by 35 kilometers, as reported by Abdelbaqi and other witnesses.
Ahmed, a former store owner in Wad Ashana, who requested anonymity due to fears of retaliation, described the dire situation. “We left with only the clothes on our backs,” he said, highlighting that the local market had been looted, a common pattern observed after RSF attacks across Sudan.
Social media footage posted by the RSF on Sunday claimed to show the group’s fighters taking control of the Wad Ashana garrison in North Kordofan and advancing toward Kosti, the last major town on the road to South Sudan. As of now, the Sudanese Armed Forces have not provided any official statement regarding the situation in the region.
Sudan, already one of the world’s poorest countries, faces an escalating humanitarian catastrophe due to the ongoing conflict. Millions are on the brink of famine, and diseases are spreading rapidly, according to the United Nations, underscoring the urgent need for international intervention to alleviate the crisis.
