Al-Tina, January 12 (Darfur24)
Police operations in the Sudanese border town of Al-Tina have come to a complete halt for more than two weeks, amid escalating security tensions and mounting fears of a possible Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attack on the city, according to multiple local sources.
A military source told Darfur24 on Sunday that hundreds of police officers began withdrawing individually into Chadian territory around two weeks ago, following the deterioration of security conditions. He added that some police personnel from Al-Tina have since joined the joint force supporting the Sudanese army and have been deployed to front-line defense positions.
Another source confirmed that police officers had repeatedly requested to be armed like the army and joint force units, but their requests went unanswered. As a result, most officers withdrew individually to Chad after the police station was permanently closed.
Al-Tina remains on high security alert in anticipation of any potential RSF attack, particularly after RSF forces briefly seized the nearby town of Jarjira last Friday before joint armed movement forces regained control the following day.
Al-Tina lies on Sudan’s border with Chad, adjacent to the Chadian town of Tina, locally known as “Jejerba.” The area hosts a key border crossing used by humanitarian aid convoys entering Sudan, as well as commercial trade between the two towns.
Along with Karnoi and Ambro, Al-Tina represents one of the last remaining strongholds of the Sudanese army and allied joint forces in Darfur, after the RSF and affiliated groups took control of most major towns in the region, including Al-Fashir last October.