Sudan Witness has geolocated footage of fire damage to an internally displaced person’s (IDP) camp in Muqrin, North Darfur.
Darfur Victims Support (DVS) posted the footage to X on 13 April 2024. Earlier that day, the non profit claimed that seven settlements were attacked and that “tens of thousands of civilians” had been displaced as a result.
On 13 April, DVS shared a post to X in which they claimed that seven settlements were subjected to attacks, displacing “tens of thousands'' of civilians, who were moved towards El Fasher for safety. The settlements mentioned included Muqrin, Umm Hagalij, Jarunga, Majdoub, Sarfaya, Umm Ashoush and Tarkina.
Later that day, DVS shared a video to X showing burn damage and smouldering debris in a rural settlement. Sudan Witness geolocated the footage to an IDP site northeast of Muqrin, North Darfur, a small village 22 km west of El Fasher in the Jughmar locality. The footage shows the camp area, which has sustained significant damage from fire. A burnt out car can be seen along with furniture, including beds and chairs, from shelters that have burnt down. The post stated that the village suffered an attack by unnamed armed groups “invited by the RSF” and that four people were killed.
Figure 1: Geolocation of footage showing burn damage to Muqrin, North Darfur on 13 April 2024 [13.65758701,25.12547307] Sources: Google Earth and X
Analysis of Planet satellite imagery between 12 and 13 April showed three sections in the northeast of Muqrin with burn scars to the ground, indicating significant damage. Smoke can also be seen over the settlement, which signals that there were active fires when the image was captured. The imagery was captured at 10:47 am GMT+2 (figure 2). Analysis of Planet satellite imagery on 13 April showed smoke rising from three other settlements close to Muqrin which included Jarunga, Sarfaya, and an unnamed hamlet situated in between (figure 3).
On 13 April, Sudanese media outlet the Ayin Network posted a video to X of an interview with Abdullah Omar, named as the coordinator of the IDP camps in Muqrin and Jukhi, who also claimed that RSF-allied militias attacked Muqrin. Sudan Witness has not been able to independently verify RSF involvement.
Figure 2: Satellite imagery between 12-13 April 2024 showing smoke and fire damage to the northeast section of Muqrin, North Darfur. Source: Planet
Figure 3: Satellite imagery from 13 April 2024 showing smoke over (left to right) Sarfaya, an unnamed hamlet, Jaranga and Muqrin in the Jughmar locality. Source: Planet