The scope of the military escalation in Sudan has expanded to two major cities, El Fasher and Al Fulah, according to eyewitnesses today, Friday.
Since the outbreak of the escalation on April 15 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, Darfur, the vast region located in the west of the country, as well as the capital, Khartoum, has witnessed clashes and gunfire.
And battles resumed in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, according to witnesses, ending a two-month calm in the densely populated city that had been a haven for them.
“It is the largest gathering of displaced civilians in Darfur, with 600,000 people seeking refuge in El Fasher,” said Nathaniel Raymond, director of the Humanitarian Research Laboratory at Yale University, in an interview.
For their part, residents reported that violence broke out again in El Fasher late Thursday night.
Witnesses also reported hearing gunfire in Al-Fula, the capital of West Kordofan state bordering Darfur.
Since it erupted four months ago, the escalation has killed 3,900 people across the country, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
In addition, a statement from Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan stated that this country has received more than 200,000 displaced people from western Sudan since the start of the escalation.
Officials of 20 international humanitarian organizations confirmed, in a statement on Tuesday, that “the international community has no excuse” for its delay in alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese population.
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