SalaaMedia: Reports
Ibrahim Adam, the (57) year old man, never predicted his house in Mellit town, in North Darfur, would be at the center of a war zone. Armed confrontations by the warring parties and airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have forced him to leave his house. He became one among thousands of displaced persons from North Darfur (Desert Belt). However, those who could not leave the area have managed to survive the repeated airstrikes by devising an effective trick to preserve their lives and those of their family members. They dig trenches within their houses and in front of shops, in order to hide when hearing warplanes buzzing or sounds of artillery during clashes. These trenches temporarily saved them from death; Ibrahim narrated how people would rush in terror as soon as they heard the buzz of planes.
Escalation of Battles
The Joint Force Ignited the fighting between the warring parties, by launching an attack on Al-Zuruq area in North Darfur, shifting fight northwards to the desert areas. Following the attack, confrontations between RSF and the Joint Force expanded to Mado, Al-Sayah, Deraishqa, Hilf and Mau areas. To make matters worse, SAF intensified its airstrikes on several areas, including Mellit, Al-Kuma, Fataberno camp and other areas. Reports are predicting escalation and expansion of fighting between the warring parties in North Darfur. Recently, RSF threatened to invade Al-Fashir town, should SAF and its allies choose to hold grounds and refuse to withdraw from the town. In addition to the continual mobilization and counter-mobilization activities of the warring parties in the northern area of the region.
Recurrent Displacement
The clashes that took place at the Desert Belt, have repeatedly displaced people of Al-Sayah, who were displaced to Tagabo, Mau, Maddo, Al-Malha, Um Hajilija and Ghibeish in early October 2024. As a result of the battles in mid-January this year, these people have been forced to flee again, to different destinations, including Al-Dabba in Northern State, Al-Malha, villages south-wards of Al-Sayah, and as well to the border triangle between Sudan, Libya and Egypt. According to Yusuf Mohammed Al-Mustafa, a resident of Al-Sayah area, that the area, which has about 12,000 population, received 210 families in October 2024, before all were forced to flee again. In the same context, about 300 families from areas northwards Shangil Tobay were displaced to different locations as a result of attacks by armed groups.
Abdel Aziz Madibo, a program officer at the Karnoi Emergency Room in North Darfur, said that after the expansion of fighting in the state, Karnoi became overcrowded with IDPs from Al-Fashir, Al-Daein and Nyala, in addition to 124 families from Anka, Bir Mezah and Um Marahik the villages. He told SalaaMedia that the IDPs are living in a difficult humanitarian situation. He explained that Karnoi emergency room appealed to humanitarian organizations, yet none responded. On the other hand, Kasab IDP camp accommodated an influx of IDPs from Kutum town and its surrounding villages. According to a member of the camp’s emergency room, they were unable to count the IDPs due to lack of communication and circumstances around the camp. Based on the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM), the number of displaced people from North Darfur exceeded 39,477 families. On 17 December 2024, the total number reached 6,134,746, and successively 6,333,980 on 14 January this year.
Humanitarian Interventions
After thorough research, SalaaMedia couldn’t obtain any information about the direct interventions by humanitarian organizations to help civilians fleeing the scourge of the intensified military confrontations since the end of last year. However, SalaaMedia’s team observed self-relying efforts by Emergency Rooms and Collective Kitchens in many areas that received IDPs.
With the recurrence and spread of battles, civilians are facing repeated displacement, complicated conditions, with dwindling humanitarian aid. Such has left civilians to an unknown fate that deepens their suffering. These situations call for an urgent international intervention, to support the insufficient efforts of the Emergency Rooms in meeting the humanitarian needs in the area. The inadequate humanitarian support places a huge responsibility on local initiatives and Emergency Rooms who are operating under limited capacities to meet the humanitarian needs of IDPs, like food and shelter.