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As Palestinians await the start of an agreed four-day truce to be announced, Israel continues its bombardment on the Gaza Strip.

Doha, Qatar – The next major battle in Sudan’s civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) could spiral into all-out ethnic violence that puts entire communities at risk, residents, experts and aid groups told Al Jazeera.

Over the last week, the Joint Protection Forces (JPF) – five mostly non-Arab armed groups – deployed hundreds of reinforcements about 80km (50 miles) northeast of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, residents told Al Jazeera.

They claim they are there to protect civilians from a possible attack by the RSF, whose fighters mostly hail from Arab tribes.

“Over the last three days…it has become fairly obvious to most people on the ground that [the fight for North Darfur] will most likely turn into an all-out, ethnic-based conflict,” said Nic Pyat, head of mission for the Nonviolent Peaceforce, an NGO dedicated to civilian protection worldwide.

A neutral body at the time, the JPF – former Darfur rebel groups tasked with security in the region after the UN-African Union peacekeeping force left at the start of 2021 – pledged to protect major markets and civilians across Darfur despite their limited abilities when the war erupted in April.

RSF fighters have defeated Sudan’s army in four of Darfur’s five states. During their charge, the group has killed civilians, subjected women to sexual violence and looted neighbourhoods.

North Darfur could suffer a similar fate if the RSF captures it from the army, residents and monitors say.

“Everyone is scared,” said Ibrahim Moussa, a local journalist in the region. “They are scared because there is no official statement [from the RSF] about whether they will attack the army or not.”

A bloody peace agreement

The JPF came into being when several armed groups originally from Darfur signed the Juba Peace Agreement with the army and RSF, who used to be firm allies, in October 2020.

The agreement allowed non-Arab rebel groups to return to Darfur from exile in Libya, where they had been for four years.

The groups included the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Gibril Ibrahim and a faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army led by Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) – under the JPA power-sharing, Ibrahim became the finance minister, while Minawi was appointed governor of Darfur.

A year later, both men joined the army, RSF and smaller armed groups to stage a coup on the civilian cabinet that had been sharing power with the security forces since a popular uprising overthrew autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

They planned to divvy up the spoils of the economy and ministerial positions, but a power struggle between the army and the RSF eventually erupted into a full-blown civil war in April this year.

Ibrahim and Minawi hedged for months, claiming neutrality in the conflict, but they officially declared support for the army on November 16. Four days later, the Gathering of Sudanese Justice and Equality Forces of Abdallah Banda in el-Fasher followed suit.

“These men are sacrificing the positive image of the Joint Protection Forces and their movements to be warlords,” said Suliman Baldo, the founder of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker, a think tank providing policy analysis on the country.

“They are joining forces with the army to preserve their narrow economic interests,” he added.

Ethnic recruitment

Both Ibrahim and Minawi are from the Zaghawa tribe, and their fighters comprise a large portion of the Joint Protection Forces that are now outside of el-Fasher.

Since returning to Darfur in 2020, JEM and SLA-MM have been actively recruiting in el-Fasher, attracting young Zaghawa and Fur men from the Zamzam IDP (internally displaced people) camp – which has a population of about 120,000 – aid groups working in the region told Al Jazeera.

“The situation in the camps is quite worrying because we know the JPA forces have been mobilising some of the displaced people, especially in Zamzam,” said one foreign relief worker who requested anonymity.

“On one hand, it means there are more people to defend the camps. But on the other hand, it could mean the camps are seen as the target by the RSF and thus a battleground.”

Ibrahim has struggled recently to retain some senior commanders. In August, JEM fighters created a splinter group after accusing Ibrahim of backing the army in the war.

Aid groups and residents do not feel that will hamper Ibrahim’s recruitment drive since he can pay his fighters handsomely from state coffers.

Meanwhile, Arabs in el-Fasher are joining the RSF for protection, said Hooa Daoud, a journalist who spoke to Al Jazeera from el-Fasher. “[D]uring any emergency or crisis, people hide behind their tribe,” she explained.

Many Arabs in the region had been arrested by military intelligence at the start of the war due to their perceived ethnic allegiance with the RSF, she added.

“For the last three months, many young Arab men have [been] recruited into the RSF from several areas in North Darfur,” Daoud said.

Fresh atrocities and regional spillover?

Residents in el-Fasher believe the RSF wants to capture all of Darfur and that an attack is imminent. But Yousif Ezat, the RSF spokesperson and spin doctor, said he is not aware of plans for a military operation.

“The RSF does not want to get involved in any kind of war with armed movements or tribes,” Ezat added.

However, just two weeks ago, the RSF and allied Arab militias reportedly killed 1,300 non-Arab Masalit civilians in an IDP camp in West Darfur to seize their land and water resources.

Local monitors say the incident may have been the single largest act of mass killing since the war began.

Alan Boswell, an expert on Sudan for International Crisis Group, a non-profit committed to ending and preventing conflicts worldwide, warned that similar atrocities could unfold in North Darfur.

“There is a huge risk of a military fight [in North Darfur] turning into ethnic violence and atrocities like what occurred in West Darfur,” Boswell told Al Jazeera.

“Any fight between the RSF and Zaghawa groups could also reverberate in Chad, where there could be more disquiet about [President Mahamat] Deby’s approach to the war in Sudan within his camp.”

Deby, who is Zaghawa, has maintained an ambivalent stance towards Darfur, but he could come under domestic pressure to defend his kin if they are attacked in Sudan. For now, civilians in el-Fasher just hope to avert an all-out war.

“There is a cautious calm,” said Moussa, the local journalist.

“The RSF hasn’t made a move, and Minnawi and Ibrahim say that they will only react if citizens and the city are attacked. “But there is fear all around.”

A vehicle has exploded on a bridge connecting the US and Canada – with the FBI warning that the situation is “very fluid”.

The governor of New York state also confirmed there has been an incident on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls – and authorities are closely monitoring the situation.

In a statement, Governor Kathy Hochul said: “I’ve been briefed on the incident on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls and we are closely monitoring the situation.

“State agencies are on site and ready to assist.”

Local media WIVB reported earlier that all four international border crossings between the US and Canada in Western New York were closed on Wednesday due to the incident.

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Actress Melissa Barrera has been dropped from the upcoming new Scream movie after reportedly sharing social media posts which criticised Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Mexican star was in the cast for Scream 7 but has now been fired by the production company Spyglass, according to Variety magazine.

A spokesperson for Spyglass said the posts were viewed as antisemitic.

They told Variety: “Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”

Israel-Gaza latest: Truce deal details confirmed

The actress has posted regularly on Instagram about the conflict, and the magazine reported she shared a post that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing”.

The 33-year-old has starred in the two most recent films in the hit murder mystery and slasher franchise – Scream – released in 2022 – and Scream VI, which came out earlier this year. She played Sam Carpenter in both movies.

Scream 7 is due to be directed by Christopher Landon who reportedly commented on Barrera’s exit in a post on X that has since been deleted.

According to Variety, he wrote: “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”

It is not known when the new movie will be released.

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Meanwhile, Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon, 77, has also been dropped by a Hollywood company over comments about the Israel-Hamas war.

Sarandon, a political activist known for her left-wing views, was dropped by the United Talent Agency after she made remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York on 17 November, according to a spokesperson for the firm.

She was criticised after she said at the event that people who are “afraid of being Jewish at this time” are “getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence”.

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The US star has been nominated for Oscars five times and won the best actress award in 1996 for her performance in Dead Man Walking.

She is also known for her roles in Thelma & Louise, The Client and Bull Durham.

Government to introduce legislation by February against Palestinian group, supports Israel’s right to ‘its own security’.

The Swiss government has announced it will introduce legislation by the end of February to explicitly ban “Hamas activities or support” for the Palestinian group.

The Federal Council, the executive branch, said on Wednesday that it has decided to draft a law to ban the Palestinian group “considering this to be the most appropriate response to the situation that has prevailed in the Middle East since October 7”.

“The act will provide the federal authorities with the necessary tools to counter any Hamas activities or support for the organisation in Switzerland.”

On October 7, Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip, which has been run by Hamas since 2007, launched an attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to the Israeli government.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions also took an estimated 240 Israelis and foreigners into the Gaza Strip as captives.

Since then, Israel has launched a massive air and ground offensive on the beleaguered Strip, killing at least 14,319 people, including more than 5,000 children, local health authorities say.

Early on Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed on a Qatar-mediated deal for a four-day truce in Gaza and the release of 50 captives held in the enclave for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody, with negotiations ongoing on the timing.

The seven-member council is formed by ministers from the four largest parties, and lawmakers in parliament are likely to swing strongly behind the draft legislation, given the positions of the major parties.

The hard-right Swiss People’s Party, the biggest in the country, has been strongly pushing for a ban.

On Wednesday, the government called for respect for international humanitarian law and particularly the protection of civilians. It voiced “deep sorrow for the thousands of civilians who have lost their lives in Israel and across the occupied Palestinian territories” and condemned the Hamas attack on October 7 “in the strongest possible terms”.

The statement made no mention of Israel’s actions in Gaza but recognised “Israel’s right to ensure its own defence and security”.

“In view of the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the Federal Council stresses the need to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access. Humanitarian pauses are necessary for this purpose,” the statement added.

Bern reiterated the need to restore the prospect of a political framework in the region based on a two-state solution.

“This approach is the only viable path towards ensuring that both the Palestinian and Israeli populations can coexist peacefully, securely and with dignity,” it said.

On October 11, the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (FDFA) suspended millions of dollars in funding to six Palestinian and five Israeli civil society organisations with ongoing international cooperation partnerships with the Swiss government.

The 11 partner NGOs were subject to “in-depth verification of their compliance with the FDFA’s code of conduct and the anti-discrimination clause in their contracts”. As a result, three of the NGOs saw their contract with the government terminated.