International Concern Grows as Sudan Conflict Reaches Key City

The paramilitary claims to have seized the capital of Jazeera, Wad Medani, and an army base, leading to mass displacement in the state, which was previously considered a secure and vital region.

Wad Medani, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Khartoum, has been a haven for tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the violence in Sudan’s capital since mid-April.

The conflict had primarily impacted Khartoum, Darfur, and parts of the Kordofan region.

Speaking in Geneva Tuesday the U.N. spokesperson, Jens Laerke, said aid organizations have been forced to temporarily suspend operations due to fighting.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, reports that 300,000 civilians in Jazeera state have been displaced since clashes erupted between the SAF and the RSF on Friday.

NRC advocacy manager, Mathilde Vu, told VOA the agency is calling on Sudan's warring factions to prioritize the safety of civilians, enabling them to flee without harm.

She appealed to the international community to escalate humanitarian response efforts and exert pressure on the conflicting parties to safeguard lives.

"We need to have guarantees by the parties in the conflict that international humanitarian law will be respected and that basically humanitarian assistance can reach to those in need without being attacked, without being looted," she said.

The Red Cross spokesperson for Africa, Alyona Synenko, told The Associated Press that the aid group was prompted to withdraw its staff from the area after fighting intensified in the vicinity of the city on Friday

Sofie Karlsson, head of communications for the U.N's humanitarian agency, OCHA, said the situation in the area has been “grim” since violence reached the state last week.

“People were seen leaving by vehicle and on foot, trying to find safety elsewhere," Karlsson told VOA

According to the U.N. 25 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan and over 6 million have been displaced.

"It's important that the international community keeps Sudan front and center because the magnitude and the potential regional impact of what is happening in Sudan could have even graver consequences than what we're seeing today," Karlsson said.

The army and RSF have been fighting for control of Sudan since April, when tensions boiled over into street battles concentrated in the capital. The eight-month conflict has killed up to 9,000, according to the U.N., but local doctors groups and activists say the death toll is likely far higher.

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum said Monday that “There is no acceptable military solution to this conflict. The only sustainable path forward is one that acknowledges that Sudan’s political future belongs to Sudanese civilians.”

In statement published on its X account, formerly Twitter, the embassy said “the SAF and RSF must end the fighting in Sudan, adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law, respect human rights, and allow unhindered access to meet the increasingly dire humanitarian needs of Sudan’s people.”

The embassy on Saturday issued a statement raising concern about fighting in Was Medani and the northeastern suburbs of El Fasher, North Darfur State. El Fasher, like Wad Medani, has been a safe haven for civilians displaced by Sudan's conflict

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.