El Nuhood, May 4( Darfur 24)
A joint meeting, attended by the head of the Civil Administration in West Kordofan State, the Native Administration, and the Rapid Support Forces, decided to withdraw fighters from the city of El Nuhood in West Kordofan, while retaining 50 combat vehicles to protect civilians and public facilities.
This step is part of the process of allowing civilians to return to their homes after fleeing to neighboring villages following the Rapid Support Forces’ capture of the city and their perpetration of widespread violations, including looting at gunpoint and the killing of those who resisted.
On Friday, the Rapid Support Forces announced their control of El Nuhood after clashes with the Sudanese army, which had been in the city since the beginning of the war on April 15, 2023.
The head of the Civil Administration in West Kordofan State, Youssef Awadallah Alian, who read out the decisions of the meeting that included the Civil Administration, the Native Administration, and the Rapid Support Forces, announced an agreement for the withdrawal of all military groups from the city , with the formation of a security and emergency committee with a force of 50 vehicles to protect civilians, the market, and institutions. He called on civilians to return to their homes as soon as possible, noting the agreement on a general amnesty among all tribes in the city and its surrounding areas.
An agreement was also reached to reopen public institutions, especially markets, hospitals, the police, and the main prison.
He gave militants from the Al-Bara bin Malik Brigades, the Mustanfirin Brigades, and leaders of the Islamic Movement 24 hours to surrender to the Rapid Support Forces, otherwise they would be treated as enemies, he said.
Eyewitnesses told Darfur 24 that citizens began gradually returning to their homes in the southern neighborhoods on Sunday morning, following widespread displacement following the Rapid Support Forces’ takeover of the city last Thursday.
Ayub Mohammed Suleiman, a resident of the southern neighborhoods of El Nuhood, told Darfur 24 that citizens began gradually returning to the city after the Rapid Support Forces urged them to return to their homes.
Ayub noted that most of the returnees came to protect their property from looting, saying that most of the residents fled for fear of airstrikes or a potential retaliatory response from the Rapid Support Forces.