Local sources in Sudan confirmed a fresh incursion by the quasi-military Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the northern region of the Al Jazirah state.
The move has caused concerns among residents, fearing it could be the onset of the state, neighboring Khartoum, being dragged into the ongoing military conflict that erupted approximately six months ago.
The sources pointed out that on Monday, an RSF contingent positioned itself in the Um Magd area, close to the city of Al Kamlin, one of the major cities of the state. However, the same sources later confirmed that these forces withdrew from the area by Monday night, heading back towards Khartoum.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Rapid Support Forces have been making forays into Al Jazirah, reaching the outskirts of Al Masyid village.
The army has subsequently bolstered its presence and key positioning along the main route leading to the state’s capital, Wad Madani.
In an effort to prevent the conflict from spreading southwards, the military has been deploying significant forces near Al Kamlin.
The army, together with the RSF, has been engaged in fierce battles, resulting in the tragic loss of thousands of civilian lives and displacing over 5 million Sudanese from their homes.
Earlier this week, at least 17 were killed in an attack on a suburb near the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
Witnesses attribute the attack to the RSF. Eyewitnesses in Wad Madani (200 kilometers south of Khartoum) reported that the RSF fired shells at the Al-Karari neighborhood in Omdurman, one of the northwestern suburbs.
Since the conflict erupted on April 15th, the clashes between the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have claimed around 7,500 lives, according to the latest figures from the non-governmental organization ACLED.
