Sudan: Deaths, Incidents, and Negotiations in Kordofan

El Fula / Babanousa / Muglad / El Obeid — Kordofan witnesses more deaths, clashes, and incidents because of the ongoing war between the military Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Displaced in Babanousa are living in dire conditions whilst community members negotiated security agreements with the RSF in Muglad.

In the area of Kokoti in south-east North Kordofan, four people were killed and eight others were wounded in an aerial bombardment by the Sudanese air force on Saturday.

According to eyewitnesses who spoke to Radio Dabanga yesterday, the targets and aims of the aerial bombardment are not yet clear.

The state now hosts more than a hundred centres to shelter displaced people, 80 of which are in the state capital El Obeid, according to the North Kordofan Humanitarian Aid Commission.

Babanousa

Residents of Babanousa in West Kordofan who fled their homes during recent RSF-SAF clashes continue to live in the open without shelter and under trees in critical humanitarian conditions for nearly a week now.

Several people who fled to safer areas of the town and are living on the streets told Radio Dabanga that the humanitarian situation is very critical. There is a lack of food, drinking water, and medical aid. On top of this, they are plagued by cold weather, scorpions, and snakes.

The displaced fear that SAF aerial bombardment will resume and prevent them from returning to their homes. The latest truce was broken within a day.

One source noted that the director of Babanousa locality left for the state capital El Fula yesterday to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis of the displaced.

El Fula

El Fula itself witnessed a cautious calm yesterday after incidents of lawlessness and looting in the two days prior. The incidents of looting coincided with the deployment of army troops in the local market.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the situation returned to normal yesterday as the El Fula Market reopened and some state institutions, including the finance ministry, were back in operation.

The army set up a number of extra posts to control the security situation.

Muglad

A meeting between the RSF, native administration leaders, and youth activists in Muglad, also in West Kordofan, on Friday, resulted in a set of agreements to “restore the situation to normal’.

The three parties agreed on the necessity to secure the area, return the police and prosecution to work, reopen the market, and prevent other “negative phenomena”, including carrying weapons and wearing a kadamool (a scarf covering the face) inside the town. Impunity for such violations should be addressed.

Local witnesses told Radio Dabanga yesterday that RSF vehicles with flags roamed the locality on Saturday and announced the outcomes of the meeting through loudspeakers. They demanded all people adhere to them.