CAIRO, June 14 (Reuters) - Fighting rocked several vulnerable cities in western Sudan on Wednesday in an expansion of the country's almost two-month-old war as the number of people who have fled their homes rose above two million.
The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has caused a humanitarian crisis in Khartoum, as well as major cities in the Kordofan and Darfur regions.
In a statement, the RSF called the fighting in El Geneina a tribal conflict, blaming the country's former regime for fanning the flames.
The city of El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, has been quieter but has seen a wave of displacement from RSF-controlled Kutum.
Meanwhile in El Obeid, a hub between Khartoum and Darfur in North Kordofan, residents said the army had begun launching air and artillery strikes against RSF positions.
Persons:
Khamis Abbakar, General Antonio Guterres, Volker Perthes, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Salah Alamin, Abdelaziz al, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Maggie Michael, William Maclean
Organizations:
Rapid Support Forces, UN, U.S . State Department, REUTERS, Darfur Bar Association, Sudanese Doctors Union, Thomson
Locations:
CAIRO, Sudan, Khartoum, Kordofan, Darfur, El, West Darfur, El Geneina, United States, Saudi Arabia, Khartoum North, DARFUR, Nyala, South Darfur, Zalingei, Central Darfur, El Fashir, North Darfur, El Obeid, North Kordofan, Kadugli, South Kordofan, Omdurman, Port Sudan, Mecca, Cairo, Dubai