Northern localities of North Darfur State have witnessed two days of clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Joint Forces of Armed Struggle Movements (“Joint Force”), triggering new waves of civilian displacement in rural Darfur.

The fighting coincides with the arrival of Joint Force reinforcements in the area, following mass mobilization by the Joint Force in North Darfur, neighboring Chad, and eastern parts of Sudan. Many of the Joint Force fighters are ethnic Zaghawa, whereas the RSF are mostly Arab, so that the fighting is largely along ethnic lines.