A supposed haven in Sudan falls to a genocidal militia

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.