Sudanese Army, RSF escalate battles in Kordofan region
Clashes have surged in western North Kordofan, where the army seeks to expand its control and limit RSF movements. El-Obeid, the state capital, remains under army control, with forces advancing into new areas after a brief lull. The RSF has relied on drone attacks targeting the city.
The army also holds towns such as Um Rawaba and Al-Rahd and reinforced main roads linking El-Obeid to Bara to block RSF infiltration. Securing central and eastern areas preserves supply lines to White Nile state and central Sudan. Bara, recaptured by the RSF on Oct. 25, connects North Kordofan to Omdurman and provides a route westward toward North Darfur.
RSF forces control northern and western towns, including Jabra Al-Sheikh, Hamrat El Sheikh, Al-Mazroob, Soudari, and Umm Badr. On Saturday, the army retook Kazgeil and Umm Dam Haj Ahmed after clashes with RSF forces. Umm Dam Haj Ahmed lies 70 km northeast of El-Obeid and hosts a regional market and Quranic centers. Kazgeil, 45 km south, provides access to South Kordofan towns Dilling and Al-Khuwei. Control of these towns opens a path to An-Nuhud in West Kordofan and East Darfur.
In South Kordofan, heavy fighting continues in Kadugli and Dilling, with the latter under RSF siege for over a year. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, fights alongside the RSF under the “Sudan Founding Alliance.” A political charter signed in Nairobi on Feb. 22 aims to form a parallel government.
Dilling remains under bombardment from RSF and SPLM-N, blocking army advances west toward Al-Fula in West Kordofan, a route to East Darfur. On Nov. 6, artillery shelling killed six civilians and wounded 12. RSF forces in Taybah, at a key road junction, have used the area for ground operations before formalizing their SPLM alliance.
Babnousa is the most contested town in West Kordofan, surrounded by RSF and SPLM forces. RSF holds Al-Fula, Al-Mujlad, and An-Nuhud and sent reinforcements to Babnousa on Saturday. The Sudanese army commander, Maj. Gen. Muawiya Hamad Abdullah, vowed: “The city is fine. We in the 22nd Infantry Division will not negotiate, surrender, or withdraw. We will fight until victory.”
Heavy clashes resumed last Wednesday with drones, artillery, and armored vehicles. Thousands of civilians have fled recent fighting in the Kordofan states. Nearly 40,000 people have been displaced from Bara, Sheikan, Rahad, Um Rawaba, and Umm Dam Haj Ahmed in North Kordofan since Oct. 26, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The army-RSF conflict, ongoing since April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 and displaced 12 million, per the World Health Organization.
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