Sudan continues to face a violent war pitting the regular army against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The latest episode in this escalation of violence took place on August 13, 2023, in Nyala, South Darfur. Paramilitaries attacked the town, causing hundreds of civilians to flee.
The RSF launched an offensive against Nyala, using several dozen military vehicles. The inhabitants report rockets falling on houses, testifying to the intensity of the fighting. Until now, the most pernicious violence had been concentrated in El-Geneina, the capital of Dar massalit-Occidental, where the UN speaks of “crimes against humanity”.
Sources confirmed that massacres of civilians and ethnically motivated killings were ongoing in Darfur. These abuses are attributed to paramilitaries led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dogolo, known as Hemedti, as well as to allied Arab militias. This is not the first time General Hemedti has been implicated in violence against ethnic minorities in Darfur, having previously participated in acts of violence under former President Omar al-Bashir.
A researcher at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory, contacted by AFP, said the ferocity and intensity of the current violence was at least equivalent to that seen during the Darfur genocide in 2003/2004.
This alarming situation raises many concerns about the safety of civilians in the region