Panic and school closures in Sudan’s Northern State as RSF take ‘triangle’

The Supreme Council for the Development of the Sukut Area in Northern State reported a state of fear and panic among the citizens of West Sukut, leading them to leave their homes and close schools. This was due to the Rapid Support Forces’ control of the border triangle and Karb El Toum areas, in addition to the presence of military forces inside the villages and the occurrence of what it described as “negative phenomena.”

The Rapid Support Forces recently seized control of the border triangle linking Sudan, Libya, and Egypt. They also seized the strategic Karb El Toum area, located 500 kilometres from several cities and regions in the Northern State. Members of the Rapid Support Forces have threatened in video clips to seize control of cities in the Northern State.

In a statement, the council promised citizens that military forces would withdraw from villages to an appropriate distance to prevent them from coming into contact with civilians. Meanwhile, citizens accused the joint force of armed movements of positioning themselves in the shade of palm trees.

Radio Dabanga was unable to obtain immediate comment from the joint force.

He said that the armed forces and supporting forces carried out pre-emptive operations to comb the area, in addition to launching airstrikes on sites controlled by the Rapid Support Forces.

The council accused unnamed parties of encouraging citizens to flee their homes in order to loot them. It also accused other parties of terrorizing traders in the Khanaq market and gold areas to force them to close.

He pointed out that there are entities operating through social media to incite against the army, calling for mobilization and the bearing of arms.

The Merowe Dam area in Northern State and Atbara in River Nile State were subjected to suicide drone attacks on Thursday for the first time in a long time. The attacks had subsided following the armed forces’ control of the El Saliha area in Omdurman but were reactivated following the Rapid Support Forces’ control of the border triangle area.