Um Kadada, April 04 (Darfur24)
Residents of Qawiya village in North Darfur have been displaced after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began constructing a military airstrip near the area, according to multiple local sources.
Sources told Darfur24 that RSF forces ordered residents of the village, located about 30 kilometers east of Um Kadada, to leave their homes and relocate to the Al-Duraiya area, where water sources are available. At least 30 families have already moved.
The site lies along the Burush mountain range, near the boundary between North Darfur and Kordofan. Witnesses said construction activities began shortly after the displacement, with heavy machinery seen carrying out excavation work and trucks transporting rocks from nearby mountains.
They added that heavily armed vehicles were deployed around the site, preventing civilians from approaching the area.
Local administration sources confirmed that the RSF has been working on the project since late last year, starting with the rehabilitation of an old dirt airstrip previously used by humanitarian organizations to access the remote region.
The construction reportedly includes expanding the runway, building aircraft hangars, installing underground fuel storage tanks, and setting up towers on surrounding high ground.
Since October, RSF forces have also carried out maintenance work on several dirt landing strips across the Um Kadada locality, located about 178 kilometers southeast of El Fasher.
The RSF controls most of Darfur, except for areas including Al-Tina, parts of Jebel Marra, and Tawila locality, as well as West Kordofan and parts of North and South Kordofan.