The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says thousands have been displaced after clashes broke out Friday morning between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the outskirts of the Sudanese town of Wad Madani. As of Sunday, the fighting in the capital of Al-Jazirah State, located some 136 km southeast of Sudan’s national capital Khartoum, is ongoing.
Many people fleeing fighting in Khartoum had found refuge in Wad Madani and are now trying to leave the besieged city by any means. Almost 500,000 people have fled to the state of Al-Jazirah, 86,400 of whom are in Wad Madani, a town of currently some 700,000 inhabitants.
Wad Madani has also served as an important hub for humanitarian operations in Sudan since fighting broke out in mid-April this year between SAF and RSF. The recent insecurity has prompted humanitarian organizations to relocate their staff to neighboring states. According to OCHA, a suspension of all humanitarian field missions within and from Al-Jazirah State has been put in place as of December 15 until further notice.
The non-governmental organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned in a statement Saturday that the escalating conflict in Wad Madani threatens to deprive millions in need of crucial humanitarian aid and will lead to new waves of displacement. According to the IRC, Wad Madani was previously a safe haven for displaced people from Khartoum.
OCHA said in a flash update Saturday that airstrikes were reported in the western, northern, and eastern parts of Wad Madani and in the vicinity of Al Sharfa Barakat village north of the town. Shops and markets in Wad Madani remain closed since Friday. The local authorities announced a state of emergency and introduced a nightly curfew in the city.
According to OCHA, sporadic shootings were heard in various areas in Wad Madani, clashes remain ongoing while panic is reportedly growing among the civilians in the town and people have been seen leaving by vehicle and on foot. The situation remains tense and unpredictable, the UN office said.
According to humanitarian sources on the ground, fighting has been ongoing for three days as the conflict features heavy artillery, airstrikes, and disruptions to civilian movement, including the closure of bridges in and around Wad Madani. The fighting, involving RSF and SAF forces, has reportedly resulted in the capture of Abu Guta village and clashes in areas including Abu Haraz and Al Sharfa.
Approximately 14,000 to 15,000 people have been displaced due to the fighting, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Affected residents have sought refuge in neighborhoods westward of Wad Madani town, as well as other locations in Al-Jazirah, and towards Sennar and Gedaref states.
The international humanitarian organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which is present in Wad Madani since June 2023, and has supported more than 34,000 people in the city since the war began, expressed its deep concern about the escalating conflict at the doors of Wad Madani.
“Wad Madani has been a place of refuge for those displaced from Khartoum, including for humanitarian and medical evacuation efforts. Now the fighting is approaching, and heavy artillery and gunfire have been heard for three days”, said William Carter, NRC’s country director in Sudan in a statement Sunday.
“A continuous flow of people, many of them who already ran for their lives just a few months ago, are now rushing towards already heavily burdened and resource-depleted cities in neighboring states.”
The NRC said it was extremely worried for highly vulnerable families in Wad Madani who have been crammed into displacement sites in schools for months and have nowhere to hide from violence, no means to escape and nowhere else to flee.
"This is more than another city being attacked, it is one of Sudan’s few remaining sanctuaries that could be under fire," Carter said.
The NRC called on all parties involved in the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law, emphasizing that all feasible precautions must be taken to avoid and minimize the loss of civilian life and injuries, as well as damage to civilian objects.
"We also demand that all parties allow for the safe passage of individuals fleeing the conflict and the urgent delivery of lifesaving assistance," the NRC’s country director added.
The scale of the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented. The UN says the country is experiencing a “humanitarian crisis of epic proportions”. Millions of people lack access to protection, food, water, shelter, electricity, education, and health care.
The number of people in need of humanitarian aid stands now at 24.8 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population. Among them are more than 13 million children in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian support. Nearly 18 million people across Sudan are facing acute hunger - more than double the number at the same time a year ago.
Currently, around 4.9 million people are in emergency levels of food insecurity with over three-quarters of these people cornered in areas where humanitarian access has been sporadic and, in some areas, impossible due to ongoing fighting. In Al-Jazirah state, about 1.9 million people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
The civil war between the SAF and the RSF is being waged with a new level of violence and brutality against civilians, especially in the states of Darfur. Thousands are ethnically targeted, killed, injured, abused, and exploited, forcing more and more people to flee the violence.
Since the conflict in Sudan started eight months ago, some 7 million people both inside and outside the country have fled the fighting. More than 5.6 million people – Sudanese and refugees already residing in the country - have been displaced inside Sudan, while more than 1.3 million women, men, and children have sought refuge in neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic.
Further information
Full text: Sudan: Clashes in Wad Madani between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - Flash Update No: 02 (as of 16 December 2023), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), released December 16, 2023
https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/sudan/sudan-clashes-wad-madani-between-sudanese-armed-forces-saf-and-rapid-support-forces-rsf-flash-update-no-02-16-december-2023
Full text: Sudan: More lives at risk as conflict spreads to parts of Al-Jazirah State, restricting access to aid, warns IRC, International Rescue Committee (IRC), press release, published December 16, 2023
https://www.rescue.org/press-release/sudan-more-lives-risk-conflict-spreads-parts-al-jazirah-state-restricting-access-aid
Full text: Statement on ongoing attack in Al Jazirah State, Sudan, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), statement, published December 17, 2023
https://www.nrc.no/news/2023/december/statement-on-ongoing-attack-in-al-jazirah-state-sudan/