Army bases fall to RSF in Sudan forcing thousands to flee – as harrowing details of sieges emerge

Published

2 years ago

November 9, 2023

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Three out of four army headquarters in each of Darfur’s state capitals have fallen to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan – pushing thousands of people further into peril.

Among the thousands crossing the border into Chad so far this month to flee the violence are many mothers and children with no possessions, according to charity groups.

The RSF gains are the latest harrowing developments in more than half a year of fighting between the Darfur-born “janjaweed” militia turned paramilitary group and their former security partners and the national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

Clashes erupted earlier this year between the RSF and the SAF in a fight for political power that has killed thousands of people.

As the RSF captured the 15th infantry division army headquarters in Ardamata – a suburb of the West Darfur capital Al Geneina, home to the city’s barracks and a camp for internally displaced people – a full-blown siege was under way.

There are videos of the RSF rounding up army soldiers – along with footage of them whipping men and young boys and beating them with rifles.

“Sons of b*****!” they yell, and the dust rises as they deliver more blows.

Various human rights monitors from Darfur confirmed that the victims of violence in this particular video were civilians held in the Ardamata area – and punished on the basis of their Masalit tribe and assumed affinity with the army.

‘No one could go in or out’

Voice notes exclusively shared with Sky News – recorded in Al Geneina on the day – detail the siege conditions imposed by the RSF and allied Arab militias on the civilian population as they rounded up army soldiers on 1 November.

“The army is surrendering and asking for guarantees so that they can leave,” says one Al Geneina resident.

They added: “But the Arabs said they won’t let the head of army intelligence go even if he surrenders and said he caused a lot of problems for them and many died.”

Another resident describes the lockdown.

“The people who could escape walked by foot from Ardamata to Al Geneina [city].

“But between afternoon and sunset prayer, they closed the road and whoever was in stayed in – and whoever was out stayed out – no one could go in or out.”

She goes on to list the roads that were closed off.

“Um Duweim Way was closed. The way to Durti was also closed and they beat people up and took their phones,” she says.

“The only way was through Tile’a but some people also said it is closed and they are looting people who try and take that way.”

Thousands forced to flee across border with nothing

Testimony shared by another Al Geneina resident at the time via text says “the 15th infantry division is now besieged from every direction”.

In reply to questions from Sky News, the RSF said: ‘We will soon take control of the towns of El Fashir and El Deain.

“We can confidently state that 90 per cent of Darfur is now firmly under our protection, and we will assume complete control at any moment when our leadership decrees.”

Some civilians and dozens of troops were eventually released and fled to Chad for safety where they laid down their arms.

The border authority told Sky News they were absorbed by the long-established Sudan-Chad joint border force.

Medecins Sans Frontieres has said that 7,000 people crossed the border from West Darfur to eastern Chad in the first three days of November alone.

Many of them are mothers and children who fled with nothing.

“The men are definitely not allowed to leave so they tried to get the women out,” says one of the residents via a voice note.

Multiple sources in Al Geneina say that hundreds were killed during the takeover, though the final number of deaths is unknown and difficult to measure.

‘They use sexual violence against women’

The siege of Ardamata by the RSF is almost a replica of their siege of Al Geneina on 15 June that led to a city-wide massacre.

Sky News was able to verify mass graves where bodies were dumped in the aftermath.

A human rights defender and researcher of gender-based violence from Al Geneina, who fled after the June massacre, says this pattern is a pathway to increased sexual assaults on women.

“After these men are executed, there are a lot of widowed women who are exposed,” she says on the condition of anonymity.

“What I saw from these militias is that they use sexual violence against women – young girls and even the elderly – who are also whipped by the RSF and displaced en masse.”

Several women and girls have shared horrifying experiences of sexual assault with her since the war started on 15 April.

“The women being harmed by the RSF cannot now be left to their protection,” she added.

Entire neighbourhoods surrounded by fighting despite peace talks

In Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, entire neighbourhoods in Omdurman and Bahri have been besieged and cut off from food, water and electricity.

The RSF has denied any involvement in what is happening in Feiteihab: “We are present in certain areas of Omdurman and we are besieging the SAF at the headquarters of the Engineer Corps in Omdurman.”

But family members of residents say their siege area is common knowledge and they are known to surround those neighbourhoods.

They are surrounded by fighting and RSF positions, with no humanitarian corridors allowing for entry of aid or medical care.

Some concerned family members have not been able to reach loved ones there in two weeks.

Shelling by the RSF and army airstrikes have been killing innocent civilians in the capital since the early days of the war.

Peace talks in Jeddah have failed to produce a ceasefire agreement between the army and RSF that would provide much-needed safety and relief.

In an exclusive comment to Sky News about the peace talks, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said: “We are deeply thankful to our Saudi and US partners, who have played an instrumental role in bringing together the RSF and the SAF to find a negotiated settlement to this crisis.”

Both sides have announced a commitment to aid access, a UN-led humanitarian forum and a separate communication mechanism.

However, these outcomes carry little credence as fighting continues on the ground and after several false ceasefire declarations made early in the war.

On 11 October, Sudan’s UN representative, aligned with the army, voted no on a UN Human Rights Council vote on a fact-finding mission to investigate abuses committed during this conflict.

World

Israel to allow ‘basic quantity of food’ into Gaza to avoid ‘starvation crisis’

Published

1 hour ago

May 19, 2025

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Israel to allow 'basic quantity of food' into Gaza to avoid 'starvation crisis'

Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas“.

Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.

It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report from last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.

The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.

“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.

“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”

It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.

Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza – where it’s been conducting a military campaign in retaliation for 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023 – with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.

Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

World

Nicusor Dan beats hard-right favourite George Simion in surprise win in Romanian election

Published

13 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Nicusor Dan beats hard-right favourite George Simion in surprise win in Romanian election

Pro-Western candidate Nicusor Dan has unexpectedly beaten hard-right populist George Simion in the Romanian presidential election.

Mr Simion, 38, and his rival – a centrist who’s mayor of Bucharest – faced off in the second round of the contest.

According to the official tally, Mr Dan was leading by nearly nine percentage points with more than 98% of the votes counted.

After exit polls suggested he wasn’t going to win, Trump-supporting Mr Simion rejected the result and said estimates put him 400,000 votes ahead.

Speaking after voting ended, Mr Simion said his election was “clear” as he posted on Facebook: “I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!”

Romania’s last election was annulled after its highest court ruled the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to claims of electoral interference by Russia.

The result is surprising because in the first round, 38-year-old Mr Simion, founder of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), took 40.96% of the vote – almost 20 points ahead.

An opinion poll on Friday had it much closer, but still suggested the two men were virtually tied.

Mr Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, is running as an independent and has pledged to clamp down on corruption.

He is also staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.

When voting closed at 9pm local time, 11.6 million people – about 64% of eligible voters – had cast ballots. About 1.64 million Romanians living abroad also took part.

The election is being closely watched across Europe amid a rise of support for President Donald Trump.

After polls closed, Mr Dan said “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in the latest vote “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania”.

“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said.

“There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”

World

Israel to allow ‘basic quantity of food’ into Gaza to avoid ‘starvation crisis’

Published

14 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas”.

Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.

It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report issued last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.

“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.

“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”

It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.

Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza, with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

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