Sudan: Activists Call for Intervention to Save Citizens of Nyala
Moatinoon
Activists from Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, have called on the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces to immediately halt the shelling, killing, and displacement of civilians in Nyala. Humanitarian organizations have been urged to urgently intervene to rescue the citys residents, thousands of whom have been forced to flee to the north and west of the city, facing a catastrophic situation without shelter, water, or food for the seventh consecutive day.
In a plea written in both Arabic and English, the Emergency Room Initiative for Nyala issued a statement titled Urgent Humanitarian Appeal. The statement called on international and local humanitarian organizations, as well as the media, to urgently intervene to save the population and protect civilians in Nyala city and the state at large.
The Nyala Emergency Room is part of a volunteer group formed by the Sudanese Resistance Committees that played a crucial role in toppling the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir after the outbreak of conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in April of last year. It is active in providing medical and food services to displaced and war-affected citizens across the country, and actively participates in disseminating news and explaining conditions in its operational areas.
Many of its members face repression and harassment from both fighting parties, including killing and arrests.
The Nyala Emergency Room stated in its latest consecutive updates since last Friday that shells continued to fall on citizens homes in six districts until yesterday evening. The clashes between the army and Rapid Support Forces entered their third day, resulting in the deaths and injuries of numerous citizens. The capacity of the sole hospital in the city, Turkish Hospital, has been overwhelmed, and the transportation of the injured to the hospital has become extremely difficult.
Fighting resumed between the 16th Infantry Division in Nyala, part of the army, and the Rapid Support Forces on Thursday. News reports indicated that fierce clashes resumed in the city when the Rapid Support Forces attempted to launch an attack and breach the Mecca Bridge adjacent to the armys headquarters. Another attack took place from the Al-Wadi and Republic districts in the city center.
The Nyala Emergency Room clarified today, Saturday, that armed clashes between the army and Rapid Support Forces are still ongoing, largely centered around the 16th Division headquarters. This has led to the displacement of most residents in neighborhoods such as Karri, Al-Jeer, Al-Wadi, Drij, Al-Jabal, Riyadh, due to the shelling in these areas. Looting and insecurity have spread in the Congo and Khartoum Bilail neighborhoods, while the far southern parts of the city have witnessed relative calm.
The armed confrontations have caused damage to the citys infrastructure. The city continues to suffer from a lack of communication networks for the third day due to the damage inflicted on the Zain network towers located in conflict areas. There is only limited communication via text messages through the Arreba network.
Regarding the health situation, the Nyala Emergency Room mentioned that all hospitals in the city have gone out of service except for the Turkish Hospital, which is suffering from a severe shortage of medical staff and volunteers.
In a statement issued yesterday, Friday, the initiative noted a shortage of medical supplies and emergency medications in the state, as well as a lack of ambulances to transport the injured to primary care centers. It also reported that the movement of health personnel within the state has been completely restricted by both fighting parties. The absence of communication has hindered the arrival of relief volunteers to provide services and count the number of casualties.
The initiative stressed that the city urgently needs life-saving medical supplies, food, drinking water, and operational materials for hospital generators and ambulances.
