THE RENEWED CLASHES BETWEEN THE RSF AND SAF IN NORTH KORDOFAN AL-OBIAD

On 9^th October 2023, at 1:00 p.m., RSF and SAF renewed clashes in Al-Obaid City 7, north Kurdufan state’s capital. Both parties used different types of heavy weapons, for example, doska and G5. This led to the destruction of properties and suffering. The death of six civilians including a 16-year-old teenager named Issa  Yagoub, who was a wheelbarrow driver and lived in Al-Sahafa area block Square 2, 23-year-old Sufiyan from Unity area block 10, 32-year old Hussam from Al-Doha area, 30-year-old Musa Abdulkadir Al-Jaali from Al-Shariq area, Dr Taib Khalid  Hessian Hamid and 25-year-old Yousif from Arafat areas whose father is the founder and owner of Arafat Centre for memorizing the Holy Quran.  Other dead bodies were not identified because they were seriously wounded.

The injured civilians were then rescued by their relatives and friends using wheelbarrows because of the continuous clashes that limited transportation. This restricted the wounded victims from reaching out for first aid treatment. The distance of the hospitals and the lack of ambulances to transport the injured civilians to different medical centers forced the saviors to drop the wounded victims in three different hospitals found nearer to save their lives with medical aid and remove bullets and bomb particles from their bodies.

Two wounded victims were taken to Al Obaid Teaching Hospital in the Department of Accidents. Dr Abdul Rahim Mohamed Ibrahim, a Medical Director at Al Obaid Teaching Hospital, testified that most injured victims had injuries on their heads and limbs. One of the wounded victims was taken to the police hospital with injuries on the limbs and abdomen. A one 22-year-old, Halima Al-Hadi, living in the areas of Al-Sahwa in Al-Obaid, was subjected to direct live bullet injuries on her hands during the clashes between the two forces while in the same hospital; the family of 24-year-old Ibrahim reported the loss of their son during the clashes. There were also other unidentified dead bodies in the hospital.

Other wounded victims were rescued at Al-Obaid International Hospital, including 13-year-old Mustafa Al-Taj Fadul from the north Taiba area in Al-Obaid. Dr Amal, the director general of the Social Security Council, reported that most of the injured persons who arrived needed to undergo immediate brain and nerve operation and blood donations, and there was no medical equipment to check the blood donor; in other words, there is lack of virus testing tubes to check the civilians reporting to donate blood which should be done before giving it to rescue the suffering survivors with the required blood assistance. However, they needed the blood transfusions urgently. This made it difficult for the doctors to conduct their roles as required.

On the same date of 9^th October 2023, 3 RSF members armed with Kalashnikov guns and dressed in RSF uniform, along the road linking to Al-Obaid and Bara locality, at around 2:00 pm, fired live bullets at three civilians identified as Ajab Adam Rabeh, Adam Adel Rabeh and Bakri Mohammed Basharie which killed them. They also robbed their car and property.

Darfur Network for Human Rights DNHR is raising an urgent call and submitting the concern of the human rights violations and targeting of innocent civilians in Kordofan to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to investigate the human rights atrocities and the African Union to hold the violators responsible and rescue the suffering wounded civilians with medical assistance because the war has led to the destruction of hospitals containing necessary equipment in Al-Obaid.

More information is available from Mohammed Hassan, Executive Director, DNHR, by email: [email protected] and by phone: (+256)752792112 or (+249)924638036.)