Sudan: Dozens Dead and Injured in South Darfur SAF-RSF Clashes

9 July 2023
Dabanga (Port Sudan)

Kass / Nertiti / Zalingei / El Geneina — Heavy fighting between the Rapid support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) left at least 30 dead and several injured in the town of Kass* in South Darfur on Thursday.

Sources told Radio Dabanga yesterday that the "bloody clashes in the town disrupted the movement of the vehicles on the main road from Kass to the town of Nertiti in Central Darfur," they explained.

In a statement by the official RSF spokesperson on Thursday, they claimed to have defeated a SAF unit near Kass, adding that "dozens of SAF soldiers surrendered and a large quantity of military equipment and vehicles were seized," according to the RSF spokesperson.

Reports on social media indicate that the RSF started assaulting people living in the area.

Sudanese Red Crescent Society

The media coordinator of the Sudanese Red Crescent (SRCS) Haisam Ibrahim told Radio Dabanga that gunmen hijacked the only vehicle used by volunteers of the SRCS for the transportation of corpses in West Darfur's capital of El Geneina on Friday.

Ibrahim states that the same happened in Sudan's capital when two vehicles were hijacked in Khartoum, interrupting "the work of the mortuary team in the city".

He adds that the team were able to bury 180 bodies, most of them being laid to rest in Khartoum.

Since the eruption of the war on April 15, corpses have been buried by volunteers in Sudan's various states, with no official figures indicating the exact number of people buried in houses or neighbourhoods.

Ibrahim states that representatives of the SRCS met with UNICEF and Chad's Red Cross (CRC) on Thursday in Adré, a border town in neighbouring Chad, to discuss how best to support those fleeing the violence in West Darfur.

"We are collaborating with the CRC to provide essential humanitarian assistance to those in need," he explained.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies launched two emergency appeals in response to the crisis in the country, one to support the SRCS to help people inside Sudan, and another to support national societies in six neighbouring countries welcoming people displaced by the conflict.

Humanitarian situation

The general director of health and social welfare in the Darfur Region, Abdelbagi Mohamed told Radio Dabanga on Friday that the situation in the five states of the region is catastrophic. "Food stocks in West Darfur has run out and urgent humanitarian intervention is needed," he said.

According to a source in Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, "the situation is quickly deteriorating" and communication networks are not working. The source told Radio Dabanga on Friday that "a woman from El Wihda neighbourhood in Zalingei died inside the hospital due to the lack of medical supplies".

Radio Dabanga reported earlier last month that the head of the breakaway Sudan Liberation Movement-Tambour, warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the state capital.

*Kass is a town in South Darfur which is located between Nertiti, Zalingei and Nyala.

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