Clashes around Wad Medani, triggers new displacement

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December 15, 2023

Residents of the city of Wad Medani woke up on Friday to the sound of explosions emanating from artillery and warplanes following clashes between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in different areas of Al-Jazeera State.

Friday’s confrontations brought back to the minds of citizens the morning of last April 15, when war broke out for the first time in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. This prompted many residents to leave Al-Jazeera State’s capital, Wad Medani, to leave for other cities, including Sennar, Rabak, among others – according to residents.

Wad Medani, which is home to at least 3 million people displaced from Khartoum, experienced a complete shutdown on Friday with all markets closed and public transportation absent. The city was also separated from its eastern surroundings after the closure of the Hantoub Bridge by the army.

According to several local sources, the RSF came in huge numbers to the village of Abu Haraz, roughly 11 kilometers outside of Wad Medani, and then proceeded to the Umm Alila area and raided warehouses for petroleum products.

The confrontations went from 8 am until noon on Friday, residents told Ayin, until the RSF withdrew by mid-afternoon.

*Citizens prepare to leave the city (social media)*

A wave of displacement

Adel Muhammad, a young man who was displaced from Khartoum to Medani this month, told Ayin a state of panic permeates the city. “All the citizens left their homes and stood in the streets, and I saw dozens of people carrying bags and some belongings, accompanied by women and children as they were heading from the northeastern part of Medani towards the southern and western neighborhoods.”

Muhammad says he plans to leave Wad Medani given the insecurity but transport costs have risen due to the scarcity of fuel after authorities shuttered all petrol stations in the city. “I saw hundreds of cars lined up in front of petrol service stations to refuel while they were still closed, and I heard from some public transportation drivers that the price of a 4-liter gallon of gasoline reached 50 thousand pounds (roughly US$ 85) on the black market.”

Wad Medani’s main market remains closed, while the merchants of the “Dagalo” market, adjacent to the Hantoub Bridge, began to empty their shops and transport their goods to the areas south and west of the city, residents said.

Wad Medani residents said the army forces are widely deployed throughout the city, including in the markets and the main and secondary roads inside the residential neighborhoods. They also ordered the residents in the neighborhoods adjacent to the Hantoub Bridge, such as Al-Dabagha and Al-Asheer to evacuate their homes for their safety.

*An empty market street in Wad Medani (social media)*

Difficult moments

“We lived through difficult moments full of fear and terror. The sounds of artillery were loud, shaking the place, and at the same time, warplanes were flying above us, so I prepared my bag in preparation for departure, but in the afternoon I returned,” said Yasser Arki, a journalist residing in Medani.

The Sudanese army did not issue any clarifications regarding Friday’s battles, but the Rapid Support Forces issued a circular in which they said that they “would like to reassure citizens in the state of Al-Jazeera, especially in the city of Wad Medani, that their goal is to destroy the strongholds of the Burhan militia and the remnants of the former terrorist regime, which represent legitimate targets for its forces.”

The Rapid Support Forces attacked the Abu Qouta area, north of Al Jazeera State the day before, looting citizens’ property, according to residents. The Abu Quta area is the main headquarters for thousands of farmers and harbours the largest agricultural project in central Sudan.

Ahmed Ibrahim, who lives with his children, is currently living in a shelter for the displaced in Wad Medani and plans to leave as soon as he is fiscally able. “We fear that the security situation in Wad Medani will deteriorate, and what happened today may be a warning sign of an upcoming danger, so I started thinking about another safe area, despite the poor financial situation we are currently facing.”

All humanitarian field missions within Gezira State suspended their work today until further notice. Since the outbreak of war, nearly half a million people have fled to Al-Jazeera State, the UN reported, with over 270,000 people in Wad Medani requiring humanitarian assistance.