December 9, Nairobi — Fighting intensified in Gezira state over the weekend. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) captured Wad al-Haddad in the south on Saturday. The next day, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) recaptured the village of Um al-Qura in the east, which the SAF had seized a week earlier.
SAF has been trying hard to regain Gezira state, south of Khartoum, which has been in control of the RSF since December 2023. The army is advancing on several fronts to retake Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira.
The SAF posted a video on its Facebook page stating that they had triumphed in the Wad al-Haddad battle axis in southern Gezira and liberated several areas.
Meanwhile, the RSF said in a statement that its forces had taken control of Um al-Qura and killed over 270 SAF soldiers. They broadcast videos on social media claiming control of the area. Their recapture of the town poses a potential threat to the Khartoum states and Nile River which it borders.
Fighting in Gezira displaced nearly 400,000 people between October 20 and November 28, the United Nations said last week. Among those displaced, an estimated nearly 17,000 were already displaced prior to the escalation and therefore experiencing their secondary displacement.
The death toll in the state was also reported to have exceeded 1,000. The RSF has been accused of widespread abuses in the region since clashes intensified on October 20, including mass killings and rape.