A supposed haven in Sudan falls to a genocidal militia
The worse of two bad factions is winning the war
The gunfire on the outskirts of Wad Madani, one of Sudan’s biggest cities, began at dawn on December 15th. Panicked civilians began to flee. The attack by fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (rsf), a paramilitary force, was met with air strikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces (saf), the regular army. After a brief lull in which the saf claimed victory, gun-toting militiamen then stormed into the city centre. As they did so, saf soldiers abandoned their posts and slunk away to the south.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “A nightmare worsens”
Middle East & Africa December 23rd 2023
- Attacks on shipping threaten to upend peace talks in Yemen
- Israel isn’t sure what to do about the hostages in Gaza
- The plight of Christians in Bethlehem and Jerusalem predates the latest Gaza war
- A supposed haven in Sudan falls to a genocidal militia
- For Congo’s next president, winning may be the easy part
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