Attachments
This brief by the Kordofan Protection Sector is based on inputs from partners, community networks and other sources.
It has not been possible to verify all the information below due to access constraints and telecommunications breakdowns.
Situation overview:
Fighting broke out between parties to the conflict in El Fula city in As Salam locality of West Kordofan on the morning of 20 June. Reportedly, clashes concentrated in the eastern and south-western neighborhoods of the city, including Al Ferdous, Al Wahda, Al Aman, Al Salam and Al Nile neighborhoods.
Communication networks ceased to operate in the area shortly after the outbreak of the fighting, making reports about the situation on the ground challenging to gather and verify. However, there are some initial reports indicating that the fighting resulted in civilian casualties including among IDP and refugee populations. At least 14 civilians were reported to have been killed, including four IDPs and one South Sudanese refugee man. The four IDPs and refugee were reportedly killed after a shall fell on the Civil Registry building, which had been utilized as an ad hoc gathering site for displaced people. In addition, at least two civilians injured in the fighting sought medical treatment at health facilities on the road between El Fula and El Nuhud. The use of heavy weaponry was reported throughout affected neighborhoods, as well as aerial bombardments, driving significant displacement of the civilian population. Those on the ground have described observing what they estimate to be thousands of people fleeing their homes on foot or donkey carts to more stable nearby localities including Al Odaya, El Nuhud and Muglad, as well as towards other villages in As Salam locality. Over 300 people have also fled to El Tubun district in Babanusa locality, despite the volaƟlity that locality has experienced. Those forced to flee included a number of households who had earlier fled from other conflict affected areas to El Fula seeking safety there, with over 27,000 IDPs estimated to have been present in As Salam locality prior to this escalation of fighting and many of those understood to be sheltering in El Fula. Reportedly, due to the loss of resources resulting from their first displacement, many households earlier displaced from Babanusa, in particular, found that they lacked sufficient capacity to transport vulnerable children and older people and so were forced to leave them behind when they fled for a second time. In the aftermath of the fighting, reports indicate that some public sector offices were looted and that small-scale opportunistic looting was also observed in the main market