Sudanese In 'Total Panic' As Paramilitaries Move South

Many of those fleeing from Wad Madani had already been displaced from Khartoum (Credit: AFP)

On a countryside road in battle-ravaged Sudan, the hum of a passing vehicle turns villagers' blood cold, fearing the arrival of paramilitaries plundering their way south in their war against the army.

"They've created a state of total panic," said Rabab, who lives in a village north of Wad Madani, the Al-Jazira state capital and latest site of fierce battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).