Sudan's Bloody October - African Stream

Eighteen months into the ongoing conflict between UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces, an end remains elusive. Civilian casualties surged in October 2024 as fierce battles tore through Khartoum, north and west Darfur, and the vital al Jazirah state, Sudan’s breadbasket. The conflict has hit civilians hardest, leaving them in desperate need of aid and safety.

Heavy fighting occurred across Khartoum and North Darfur in the first week of October. North Darfur’s El-Fasher witnessed relentless RSF shelling and army airstrikes, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties. The deadliest assault occurred in Al-Koma’s market, where an army airstrike k*lled 59 civilians and injured over 200. Elsewhere in Al Hasaheisa, al Jazirah state, airstrikes caused close to 100 civilian casualties, including children. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported severe shortages in essential supplies, with malnutrition and lack of healthcare hitting mothers and children hardest.

The humanitarian crisis has only worsened. In West Kordofan’s Um Dafas village, an 8 October RSF attack killed 13 civilians, while separate incidents in North Kordofan and Jezira State saw dozens of fatalities and thousands displaced. By October’s third week, RSF forces seized a medical supply truck in White Nile State, exacerbating health shortages. The violence escalated dramatically in al Jazirah state after RSF commander Abuagla Keikal defected, with RSF reprisal attacks k*lling 24 civilians on 23 October. Reports of abductions, murders, and s*xual violence have revealed the impact of this protracted war on Sudan’s civilian population.

This information was pulled together by verifying initial reports by @BSonblast (X).

Sources
Daily updates by @https://x.com/BSonblast

Displaced
https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan

Sudan’s health sector facing collapse
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00858-9/fulltext

Al Koma
https://www.smh.com.au/world/africa/mass-civilian-deaths-reported-after-sudan-s-army-ups-airstrikes-20241011-p5khko.html

https://x.com/BSonblast/status/1842401485998760376

Al Hasaseisa
https://www.sudanspost.com/over-140-killed-in-saf-airstrikes-across-sudan-in-less-than-a-week

https://x.com/BSonblast/status/1843491871882129880

Critical medical shortages
https://trtafrika.com/africa/el-fasher-msf-halts-operations-at-darfur-camp-over-aid-blockade-18219165

https://x.com/BSonblast/status/1842757525206352353

West Kordofan
https://sudanevents.com/index.php/2024/10/20/13-civilians-killed-in-militia-attack-on-a-village-in-west-kordofan

North Kordofan
https://sudantribune.com/article291836