The Tasis alliance says its forces have taken Maqja, a junction linking Kurmuk, Ed Damazin and the Ingessana Mountains; the claim is unverified. In Ed Damazin, a drone strike on a power station has left kidney patients without dialysis and residents short of water.
The Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasis) said on Friday 6 November that its forces had taken the Maqja area in Blue Nile after clashes with the army and allied forces, The Sudan Times reported, citing Sudan Mix. The outlet Al Sudania News quoted field sources as saying Tasis forces held the junction. Maqja lies where routes from Kurmuk, the state capital Ed Damazin and the Ingessana Mountains meet, and has changed hands before. The claim has not been independently verified, and CERHA found no army statement on Maqja.
The announcement follows Tasis claims since 3 November to Sali, Al-Kayli, Kilo 6 and Bakori on the approaches to Ed Damazin, which hosts the army's 4th Infantry Division. The army has acknowledged repositioning its forces out of Sali. Ed Damazin remains under army control.
Dialysis halted in Ed Damazin
Inside the city, the dialysis centre has stopped working since a drone struck the power-generation station on the evening of Tuesday 3 November, cutting electricity to Ed Damazin, Roseires and other parts of the region, Radio Tamazuj reported. One patient, Abdel Rahim Hussein, told the station he had been unable to have a dialysis session for three days. Bakri Al-Amin, an activist with the Shari' al-Hawadith initiative in Ed Damazin, said the stoppage was a direct result of the strike on the transformer station and that activists had received reports of a patient's death as the machines stopped. That report has not been confirmed. Patients' relatives appealed for solar power or a dedicated electricity line for the centre. Radio Tamazuj said it could not obtain comment from officials.
The blackout has also disrupted water pumping. Residents told Radio Tamazuj that a container of water now costs 3,000 Sudanese pounds and a barrel 17,000. "We don't have a single drop of water at home," said Abbakar Yahya of the Al-Safa neighbourhood. No authority has given a timetable for restoring power.
Context
Neither side has claimed the strike on the power station. Port Sudan accuses the Rapid Support Forces and the SPLM-N of drone attacks on the city launched from near the Ethiopian border, which Addis Ababa denies. UNHCR says nearly 120,000 people have been displaced in Blue Nile since January, adding pressure on services in Ed Damazin and Roseires.
Image: The Blue Nile near Ed Damazin, Sudan. Evon2023 (Nile Project / Sari Omer), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.