Over 55,000 flee Sudan town as RSF battles army: UN

PORT SUDAN, Sudan: More than 55,000 people have fled Sinja, the capital of Sennar state in southeastern Sudan, as fighting rages between paramilitary forces and the regular army, the UN humanitarian office OCHA has said.

The report came after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Saturday they had taken Sinja, where witnesses described intense fighting and civilians in panic attempting to escape.

“Over 55,400 people flee Sinja Town as conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces spreads to the town,” OCHA said Monday on social media platform X. “People fleeing Sinja town have arrived in Gedaref, Blue Nile, White Nile, and Kassala states,” it said. OCHA said aid groups in Gedaref, near Sudan´s eastern border with Ethiopia, “have started planning for the arrival” of those fleeing Sennar. But Gedaref is already hosting more than 600,000 people, according to the United Nations.

OCHA, citing media reports quoting local sources, said armed men “reportedly including members of the RSF, have ransacked and looted homes and shops and occupied government buildings” in Sinja.