MEE staff
The Sudanese army said it and allied armed groups captured the key Rapid Support Forces (RSF)-held capital of Gezira state.
A video the army shared on Saturday showed fighters claiming to be inside Wad Madani, while an army source told AFP they had “stormed the city’s eastern entrance”.
The city had for a year been under the control of the RSF, the paramilitary force that has fought with the Sudanese army since April 2023.
Fighting has been ongoing in Gezira state, with the army retaking much of the state.
The RSF have been accused of widespread atrocities and human rights abuses across the state, with Middle East Eye reporting on multiple cases of sexual assault carried out by the paramilitary group.
According to eyewitnesses and local activists, RSF fighters and unaffiliated criminal gangs have killed, raped, and abducted civilians, as well as looting their homes, robbing them and burning down buildings.
In one particularly shocking incident, a young woman was raped by 16 RSF soldiers. The incident was confirmed by the girl’s family and by their neighbour, but the family did not want to provide further details because of the shame and stigma attached to the assault.
The war in Sudan has displaced over 11 million people, according to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration, and over 25 million civilians are facing acute hunger. Over half of Darfur’s population of 10 million have been forced to leave their homes.
No official or reliable statistics are available for the number of people killed in the ongoing conflict, which began in the capital Khartoum, spread to Darfur and extended into other states.
Waseem Ahmad, the CEO of charity Islamic Relief, told MEE in October that his team in Sudan estimates the death toll could already be as high as 200,000.
