As communications services continue to be completely cut off from Al-Jazirah State in central Sudan, complaints have escalated about violations committed against civilians, a severe shortage of basic and necessary materials, and some health facilities out of service.
In a statement on Sunday, the resistance committees in the city of Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazirah State, accused “the Rapid Support Forces of being involved in continuous violations against civilians in a number of villages in the state.”
The statement said, “The Rapid Support Forces took advantage of the interruption of communications services, and invaded a number of villages, causing a number of deaths and looting dozens of cars, in the areas of Tanub, Marioud, Futais, Al-Farijab, Mu’ayjna, and Tabet.”
Last December, the Rapid Support Forces extended their control over the city of Wad Madani in the state of Al-Jazirah, and its commander, Muhammad Hamdan Daglo, known as “Hemedti,” issued a decision appointing field commander Abu Aqla Kikal as governor of the state.
Since last January 7, most of the states of Sudan have suffered from a complete communications outage, while the service is working partially in the eastern and northern states of the country, amid exchanges of accusations between the army and the Rapid Support of causing the service outage.
The statement pointed out that “all hospitals in the city of Wad Medani and a number of cities in the state are out of service, except for emergency, women’s and obstetrics, which are operating partially, amid the lack and scarcity of some medicines, after pharmacies closed their doors for fear of theft and looting.”
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday that both sides of the civil war in Sudan committed violations that may amount to war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilian sites such as hospitals, markets and even camps for the displaced.
The cut-off of the communications network, which the Rapid Support Forces are accused of, has hindered the delivery of aid to those affected by the war, and has also left the population, which numbers about 50 million people, unable to make payments or communicate with the outside world, according to Reuters.
Residents resorted to devices connected to the Starlink satellite internet system, a service provided by one of the American businessman Elon Musk’s companies, after communications continued to be cut off.
Demands for international intervention
In turn, the emergency committees in the city of Al-Hasaheisa in Al-Jazirah State said that they “counted more than 25 deaths in a number of villages and regions during the past week.”
In a statement on Saturday, it accused “the Rapid Support Forces of involvement in these violations,” and called on “international justice institutions to investigate crimes committed against civilians.”
The emergency committees, which are youth groups that became active after the outbreak of war, with the aim of facilitating citizens’ access to services, complained “of the difficulties facing families regarding the issue of providing food.”
A member of the emergency committees in the city of Al-Hasaheisa, Dhu Al-Nun Al-Tarifi, indicated in an audio message that “most of the markets in the state of Al-Jazirah closed their doors, which led to a state of scarcity and an increase in the prices of goods, and forced thousands of residents to flee to the city of Al-Manaqil, which is controlled by them.” Army”.
Al-Tarifi, who fled with others from Al-Hasaheisa to the city of Al-Manaqil, said, “Electricity and water service has partially returned to some areas in the state of Al-Jazirah, while gas services and means of transportation have completely disappeared, and residents have become dependent on animals for transportation.”
The city of Al-Manaqil, which is located west of Al-Jazirah State, has turned into a refuge for those fleeing the ravages of war, due to the presence of the army there, as its importance increased after the Rapid Support Forces seized the cities of Wad Madani and Al-Hasasya.
However, the displacement of thousands of residents of Al-Jazirah State to Al-Manaqil “increased pressure on the city’s services, especially in the issue of health and food security,” according to Dr. Nader Ammar.
Ammar, a doctor active in a local voluntary organization in Al-Manaqil, after losing his job in Wad Madani due to the war, said, “The influx of displaced people into the city of Al-Manaqil has placed its dilapidated health system facing new challenges, as a scarcity of medicines and medical supplies has emerged.”
He added, “The conditions in Al-Jazirah State are getting very bad, especially with the cessation of banking applications that residents and displaced people rely on in their daily purchasing transactions.”
The Sudanese banking sector was damaged by the war, and a number of banks and banks went out of service, which resulted in a scarcity of liquidity, according to the Sudanese Banking Union.
Residents turned to banking applications for commercial transactions, before these applications stopped service due to the interruption of communications and the Internet.
The United Nations World Food Program announced on Friday that 95 percent of Sudanese cannot secure a full meal a day, while about 8 million people, half of them children, have fled their homes.
The United Nations says that more than half of the Sudanese, who number more than 48 million people, or about 25 million people, are in need of assistance, including 18 million people facing acute food insecurity.
Formal charges
In turn, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “The Rapid Support Militia took advantage of the media blackout it imposed due to its cutting off communications networks, especially in the states of Khartoum and Al-Jazirah, to escalate its terrorist operations against civilians.”
The statement pointed out that “the Rapid Support militia killed during the past days 20 citizens from the village of Wad Al-Aziz, west of Sennar, and more than 17 citizens from the village of Wad Al-Balila, west of Al-Jazirah State, and 12 civilians from the village of Muayjna and 7 from the village of Al-Uqda Al-Maghariba.”
On the other hand, the advisor to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Imran Abdullah, denied “the Rapid Support’s involvement in violations against civilians in Al-Jazirah State,” stressing that “there is a campaign to distort the image of their forces, carried out by elements of the regime of former President Omar Al-Bashir.”
Abdullah told the media, “The criminals involved in violations against citizens in Al-Jazirah State do not belong to the Rapid Support Forces, but rather wear their uniforms illegally, and carry out their crimes with the support of elements of the former regime.”
He continued: “A few days ago, some unruly people wearing Rapid Support uniforms killed two members of the personal guard of the field commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Al-Mak Abu Shatwal, and when the identity of the perpetrators was checked, it became clear that they did not belong to the Rapid Support Forces.”
The advisor pointed out that “the Rapid Support Forces leadership dealt with all the reports it received about violations in Al-Jazirah State, and sent field commanders and members of the Advisory Council to verify these allegations on the ground.”
He pointed out that “the Rapid Support Forces will deal firmly with anyone proven to be involved in these crimes and violations, whether among its members or on the move, who seek to spread organized crime and create chaos in the state of Al-Jazrah .”
According to United Nations agencies, the conflict that has been taking place in Sudan since April 15 has killed more than 12,000 people and forced more than six million to flee their homes.
In February, the United Nations appealed for $4.1 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of Sudanese this year, in their country and in neighboring countries.
In 2023, it received only half of the required funding.
For its part, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in January that without additional international support, “tens of thousands” of children in Sudan are likely to die.
