The Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have announced their readiness to open safe corridors for civilians to exit Al-Fashir and move to safer areas, providing protection for them.
In a statement released Friday evening, the RSF emphasized, “We assure all citizens that they are free to choose whether to stay or leave the city for any destination they prefer. There is no restriction on any citizen, and the RSF holds no animosity towards any party.”
The RSF confirmed their preparedness to assist citizens by “opening safe routes for civilians to move voluntarily to other, safer regions and providing protection for them.” The statement also criticized the call by the Governor of Darfur to mobilize in Al-Fashir and urged civilians to avoid conflict zones.
The statement continued, “We urge our citizens in Al-Fashir to stay away from conflict areas and regions likely to be targeted by airstrikes and to disregard malicious calls for civilian mobilization and being dragged into the war.”
Sudan has been embroiled in conflict between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemeti,” for over a year. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and millions have been displaced since the war erupted in April 2023.
The United Nations warned on Friday that it has received only 12% of the $2.7 billion it requested to aid approximately 15 million people in Sudan, which is facing a civil war. Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told journalists, “This is not just a funding shortfall; it is a catastrophic funding shortfall.”
He added, “If additional resources do not arrive quickly, humanitarian organizations will be unable to scale up efforts in time to avert famine and prevent further deprivation of basic necessities.” Laerke emphasized, “In Sudan, half the population needs humanitarian aid. Famine is approaching. Diseases are spreading. Fighting is encroaching on civilians, especially in Darfur.”
The United Nations has expressed increasing concern in recent days over reports of intense fighting in densely populated areas as the RSF seeks to control Al-Fashir, the last major city in the Darfur region not under their control.
