Network outages reported as RSF, military continue to clash in Khartoum elsewhere, tens of thousands arrive to border

The Sudanese military launched a new phase of operations against the Rapid Support Forces on Monday, a military source told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity, bringing to an end a three-day lull in the violent clashes tearing through Sudan.

During the conflict that broke out 10 days ago, the Sudanese Armed Forces conducted aerial strikes targeting RSF supplies, including ammunition depots and camps on the outskirts of Khartoum, as a key tactic in the first phase of its operations, the source explained. 

While the source did not specify the particulars that would distinguish phase two, a heavy deployment of tanks arrived in Khartoum on Monday evening from the Maaqil military base. 

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF has been more sporadic since Eid al-Fitr began on Friday in light of a truce established to mark the religious holiday.

The period of comparative quiet provided a window for the evacuation of many foreign nationals and diplomatic missions. Various states coordinated with local actors to facilitate repatriation by land and by sea.

Yet the conflict spiked again on Monday, with renewed confrontations in the capital. 

Tens of thousands of citizens are now seeking to exit Sudan, as areas in Khartoum that have been engulfed in fighting have increasingly become unlivable due to the suspension of basic services and the danger of being caught in the crossfire. At least 431 civilians have been killed and over 3,000 injured according to the latest estimates released by the World Health Organization 

Fighting broke out on Monday morning, in neighborhoods across Khartoum Bahri, the northern part of Sudan’s tri-city capital, and violent clashes resumed near the Halfaya Bridge.

Warplanes were seen flying low to the east of the country, in Gadarif State, eyewitnesses told Mada Masr. Anti-aircraft rounds could be heard from the nearby Setit Dam reservoir.

The eyewitnesses speculated that the military could be targeting local strategic sites belonging to the RSF. An airstrip known as Zayed Airport lies within the area, the eyewitnesses indicated, while a Sudanese security source in the intelligence service told Mada Masr that the airstrip is likely being used as a supply base for the RSF.

In the North Kordofan city of Obeid, army artillery fire could be heard to the west of the city, residents told Mada Masr, adding that reports were circulating that the armed forces were attempting to hold back RSF fighters who were trying to enter the city. Obeid is one of the main areas outside of the capital that has seen intense fighting in recent days.

Life in the capital remains harsh for its remaining residents, as internet networks dropped on Sunday, leaving the country with just two percent connectivity according to the independent watchdog, Netblocks. The military alleged Monday that the RSF were responsible for targeting telecommunications infrastructure. 

Amid power and running water outages, the provision of medical support is also compromised. A member of Khartoum Bahri’s Haj al-Safi Hospital who spoke to Mada Masr on Monday said that conditions at the hospital are deteriorating with medical equipment lacking, while hospitals in Omdurman are also under pressure and are unable to perform surgeries given staff and equipment shortages.

Of the 79 hospitals adjacent to the sites of clashes in Khartoum and across the country, said the preliminary committee of the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, 55 are out of service. “Thirteen hospitals were bombed and 19 were forcibly evacuated,” the syndicate said. Conditions threaten the closure of the remaining 24 operational hospitals, they added, some of which are currently able to provide only first aid services. 

Khartoum residents speaking to Mada Masr over recent days have recorded people fleeing the capital’s neighborhoods en masse in search of safer refuge away from the clashes.

To the west, in Darfur, residents have launched initiatives to put a stop to fighting within cities and the displacement camps which shelter millions in the five conflict-torn states that make up the region. As a result of an initiative put forward by the state governor, local administrations and tribal leaders, the military and the RSF committed to stop fighting over Eid, said North Darfur resident Alaa Eddin Adam. In the interim, said Adam, the RSF made small deployments across the city, while the Armed Forces had a bigger force deployed with heavy weaponry.

Clashes resumed Monday, however, eyewitnesses told Mada Masr in the West Darfur city of Geneina, with residents able to hear the sounds of medium and light weaponry fire to the city’s west.

And as the sound of war rages on into a tenth consecutive day, the shockwaves are increasingly reverberating on Sudan’s borders, where international agencies have flagged concerns of knock-on destabilizing ramifications.

A mass exodus of citizens has sought out the western border with Chad, which has been completely closed since the outbreak of violent clashes, sources told Mada Masr. Between 10,000 and 20,000 Sudanese nationals are now seeking refuge at the Chadian border, according to estimates from the UN refugee agency. Chad’s ruling body, the transitional council headed by Mohamed Idriss Deby, has announced its support for the Sudanese Armed Forces against the RSF, said a Chadian diplomatic source speaking to Al Jazeera. 

While information from the Egyptian border crossing with Sudan at Wadi Haifa is slight, the Ethiopian Red Cross announced Monday that it had set up a service site to provide people in the area with psychological and medical support, as well as access to food and telecommunications services.