Civilians in Elfasher, the capital of North Darfur in Sudan, and surrounding towns, are starving.
Paramilitary rapid support forces (RSF) attacked the siege for about a year, but they were able to prevent the invasion before they could occur thanks to the joint forces.
Civilians under siege are now seeking help, but some fear that the military has no ability to save civilians, nor local journalists, nor civilians.
According to the United Nations Global Hanger Monitor, Integrated Food Security Stage Classification (IPC), roughly 500,000 civilians at Zamzam camp, are the largest refugee camp in North Darfur and are already suffering from hunger.
Zamzam residents told Al Jazeera that the Army dropped food aid from the fighter jets earlier this week, but they would run out of supplies a few days later.
“All military and security agencies in Sudan need to improve [North Darfur] “We are pleased to announce that we are a great source of service,” said Mohamed Khamis Doda, a spokesman for Zamzam Camp.
“Immediate intervention is also required. [humanitarian organisations]He added.
Would you like to abandon Darfur?
Most of the people in the camp, as well as the Elfasher people, come from sedentary agricultural communities known as “non-Arab,” and most of the fighters that attack them come from nomadic or pastoralist “Arab” tribes that RSF normally recruit.
Since April 2023, the RSF has fought the Sudanese forces in a devastating civil war that caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis by most measures.
RSF quickly captured four of the five Darfur provinces, South, East, West and Central Darfur in 2023. North Darfur was held out.
The United Nations has denounced both sides of the atrocity, but RSF has systematically raped women and girls and “disappeared” thousands of civilians.
Many of these crimes take place in Darfur, a near-scale RSF hub in France.
In April 2024, the RSF besieged the North Darfur capital Elfasher after many local armed facts (parts of the joint forces) sided with the army despite being formed in a rebellion against central government tribes and regional alienation in the early 2000s.
Since the Army acquired the capital, Khartoum has been worried in March that Darfur experts and civilians will once again ignore the region by prioritizing control over the central and North Sudan.
“At this point, we don’t know if the Army has the political will and resources to keep fighting. [in Darfur]said Jawarakanu, an independent Sudanese expert from North Darfur.
Kanu added that over the past two years, he has gained a great deal of support incited social media hatred towards civilians in Darfur, increasing the number of persons denounce everyone in the area for RSF crimes.
“They believe the RSF is from Darfur, so let’s let Darfur go,” Kanu told Al Jazeera.
“I’m afraid of that public opinion [in north and central Sudan] It could affect the decisions of the Army and Allied forces [fight for Darfur]. ”
Indiscriminate war
On March 24th, the army fired four rockets at a crowded market in Tora village in North Darfur, as hundreds of people gathered to break quickly during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Local monitors estimate that at least 350 people have died.
“There were so many civilians who were killed and injured. Many of them were women and children,” said Adam Rohal, a spokesman for the displaced people in Darfur. “There was no justification at all.”
Al Jazeera sent a written investigation to Army spokesman Nabil Abdallah, asking why the Army reached a crowded market during Iftar. He had not responded by the time of publication.
Sources monitoring the situation in Darfur asked to remain anonymous in order to protect their colleagues from retaliation.
Despite the attack on Torah, most civilians in North Darfur fear RSF invasions more than military attacks.
They believe that if the group conquered Elfasher and surrounding villages, they would kill, rape and loot the entire city in large quantities, as they did throughout Sudan.
However, sources say that if the group penetrates densely populated spaces in North Darfur, such as Elfasher and Zamzam, the Army cannot accurately attack the RSF.
“I think it’s that strike. [on Torra] It showed that if the RSF enters Elfasher, the Army would not be restrained. And what does that mean for civilians… well, I think we already have an idea,” the source told Al Jazeera.
A contract to surrender?
Local monitors say RSF has intensified abuse across North Darfur in recent weeks.
On April 1, the group fired at least seven people at the Abu Shok evacuation camp, which houses around 190,000 people.
Ten days ago, they attacked the town of Almarha, north of Elfasher, killing at least 40 people, destroying homes, looting and burning markets, exacerbating hunger in the area.
With the capture of Al Marha next to Libya, RSF will give the RSF another important supply line as they approach Elfasher, a local monitor told Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, they say that the joint forces cannot obtain new weapons or recruit new fighters for the siege.
On Sunday, Mini Minowi called for “dialogue” during his speech during the joint military leader Eid Al Fitr, which appeared to contradict a previous speech by Army Secretary Abdel Fatta al-Balhan.
Minawi’s words prompted speculation that the joint force could seek a deal with the RSF to avoid bloodshed, experts and local monitors told Al Jazeera.
However, civilians in the region fear that any transaction will result in non-Arab ethnic cleansing, said Mohamed Zakaria, a journalist for El Fascher.
“The joint forces are the sons of people who live in the area. It’s really hard to imagine them surrender to RSF. [non-Arabs] Who’s here?” he said.
“[Non-Arab communities] Consider North Darfur as your land. It is impossible for them to leave.
“They’ll either live or die here,” he added.
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