https://arab.news/9eexu
PORT SUDAN: Thousands of families fled their homes in Sudan’s North Darfur state over two days, the UN’s migration agency said on Tuesday, amid intensified attacks by paramilitary forces.
“Between 25 and 27 January 2025, an estimated 3,960 households were displaced from various villages across El-Fasher locality,” the International Organization for Migration said.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — at war with the army since April 2023 — have captured every state capital in the vast western region of Darfur except for North Darfur capital El-Fasher, which they have besieged since May.
In its latest attempt to capture the city, the RSF last week issued an ultimatum demanding that army forces and their allies leave the city.
The IOM said the displacement occurred due to RSF attacks, which included reported incidents of “looting and burning of personal property.”
Army and allied forces have repeatedly repelled attacks by the paramilitary forces, who local activists said launched intense artillery shelling on residential neighborhoods in the city.
On Friday, a drone attack on the city’s only functioning hospital, which local monitors blamed on the RSF, killed 70 people, drawing condemnation from the UN.
Nearly 1.7 million people are displaced in North Darfur state alone, according to the UN, with an estimated two million experiencing extreme food insecurity and 320,000 in famine.
In the area around El-Fasher, famine has already taken hold in three displacement camps — Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al-Salam — and is expected to expand to five more areas including the city itself by May, according to a UN-backed assessment.