Nairobi, July 27 (Darfur24)
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have transported thousands of fighters to Libya and Ethiopia through Nyala International Airport over the past two weeks for advanced military training, according to military sources within the group.
Three RSF military sources told Darfur24 that the fighters were sent abroad to receive advanced training before being deployed to battlefronts in the Blue Nile and Darfur regions.
The sources said some of the fighters had previously undergone local training at camps in Doumaia, Musia suburb and Al-Mazlaqan in Nyala, while others had been accommodated in public institutions and buildings without receiving military training.
According to the sources, the training sites have now been vacated following the departure of the fighters.
The sources also said that some of those deployed are foreign nationals from South Sudan who had been recruited and assembled in Nyala during the past several months.
The reported transfers coincided with an increase in the number of large cargo aircraft arriving at Nyala International Airport, with residents telling Darfur24 that one to two cargo flights have been landing daily.
Two RSF sources told Darfur24 that the group carried out similar deployments to Libya last year, sending thousands of fighters for advanced military training before redeploying them to active battlefronts.
The reported transfers come as fighting intensifies across the Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile regions, amid worsening humanitarian conditions for civilians.