The Sudanese Doctors’ Network warned on Wednesday of worsening humanitarian conditions in the city of Babanusa, located in West Kordofan State, amid renewed heavy fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The clashes have placed dozens of families including many women and children under grave threat.
The network said it was following with deep concern the reports emerging from Babanusa, noting that many families who had previously sought refuge at the headquarters of the 22nd Infantry Division amid the ongoing battles and RSF expansion in the city are now enduring severe humanitarian hardship.
It added that recent videos posted on social media believed to have been filmed by RSF members showed women and children inside the military compound living in dire humanitarian conditions.
The organization called for “opening safe corridors for their evacuation and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian assistance.” It also urged guarantees for the safety of these civilians and their transfer to secure areas without arbitrary detention or reprisal because of relatives’ ties to government forces.
The network appealed to the international community and humanitarian organizations to assume their responsibilities toward civilians in Babanusa and to pressure the RSF leadership to allow the safe evacuation of families from conflict zones and provide them with necessary relief and medical care.
On Tuesday, the Sudanese army announced that its forces had repelled a new RSF attack on Babanusa.
The announcement came a day after the RSF claimed, in a Monday statement, to have captured the city following its takeover of the 22nd Division headquarters.
Over the past week, the RSF launched a series of assaults on Babanusa under a near-total siege, contradicting earlier claims by its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), who on November 24 had declared his acceptance of a three-month humanitarian truce.
In recent days, the Sudanese army airdropped supplies to support its troops inside the city, now largely emptied of its residents after the displacement of an estimated 177,000 people, according to local relief committees.
The government has stated that it does not oppose negotiations with the RSF but conditions any talks on the withdrawal of RSF fighters from all cities and civilian installations, as a prerequisite for the return of tens of thousands of displaced civilians.
The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen amid a war that erupted in April 2023 over disagreements about unifying the country’s military institutions. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 13 million others.
Anadolu Agency / Al-Quds Al-Arabi
