Then make sure Control every situation throughout the Darfur region Con Violence dominates the city of El FasherAt the end of October, the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are now directing their efforts to expand their control in the vast Kordofan region, in the central south of the country, where the regular army is trying to defend its positions. The escalation of violence in the region, where new atrocities have been committed against the civilian population, comes amid a renewed diplomatic offensive launched by Egypt and the United States to try to achieve more humanitarian fire.
Among the current Rapid Support Forces is the besieged city of Babanusa, the last stronghold of the regular army in West Kordofan State, one of the three states that make up the border region with Darfur. Since the capture of El Fasher – where some 2,000 people were killed – paramilitary forces have focused on this front and exposed the soldiers trapped inside to sustained attacks. The army is replenishing its forces by air and attacking the rebels with drones, but the situation is becoming more dangerous every day. Local activists confirm that after years of harassment, almost all of Babanusa’s residents, about 177,000 people, have abandoned the city.
The other target of the Rapid Support Forces is the city of Dilling, the second largest city in South Kordofan. On this front, the paramilitaries are working alongside another armed rebel group with a strong presence in the region, the Pueblo de Sudan Liberation Movement of the North, both of which have mobilized fighters who in the past few days have advanced to the summit to be within a few kilometers of the city, which has also been under siege since the end of 2023. Last month, artillery attacks by the rebel group reached the main hospital in Dalang and killed six people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The increase in attacks and harassment in Dalang further exacerbates the humanitarian crisis affecting the city, which is characterized by severe shortages of medicine and food. The only other city in South Kordofan to which the Dilling remains connected is the state capital Kadugli, where at the beginning of November it was announced that Hambrona would also potentially extend to the Dilling. The current rebel offensive in the city, which is ethnically diverse, like Kadugli, but mostly Nuba, raises fears of new atrocities by groups allied with Aboyo Rabidu forces against enemy tribes.
In parallel, the Rapid Support Forces are trying to undermine the army’s defenses in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, its main support point in the west of the country and an important defensive line for the national capital, Jhartum. Although paramilitary forces have not yet been launched in this city, in the past few weeks they have seized some surrounding areas, and at the beginning of November killed at least 40 people in a drone attack on a funeral on its outskirts. The army responded to the threat by fortifying the city of El Obeid, sending military shelters, and announcing a general movement.
The advance of the Rapid Support Forces in North Kordofan coincided with As has happened systematically in its attacks since the beginning of the warof massacres against the civilian population. One of the most violent incidents occurred at the end of October in the town of Bara, north of El Obeid, where rebels killed dozens of people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Local media also reported a large number of missing people and multiple cases of sexual violence.
“In Barra, they committed real atrocities, including extrajudicial executions of people, without controlling the city, as well as looting the Umm Haj Ahmed market,” says a member of Abujados de Emergensia, an independent legal group from Sudan, on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Furthermore, indiscriminate shelling in El Obeid and the brutality of the attacks on Bara and El Fasher caused widespread panic among the population and a new wave of displacement.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, also warned this month, at a session of the Human Rights Council called to address the situation in El Fasher, of the risk of repeating the atrocities committed in Darfur in Kordofan. The Austrian lawyer, who insisted that international rights “should not be trampled” before the eyes of the world, warned that “all the sins are there: the bombings, the sieges, forcing people to leave their homes, and the vile disregard for civilian lives.”
Diplomatic efforts
The atrocities in El Fasher and the growing division in Sudan have prompted a new diplomatic offensive, led by the United States and Egypt, to try to reach a high-temporal fire that opens the way to opening a political path between the paramilitary forces and the army. The rebels confirmed their acceptance of the plan, although they violated all armistice agreements in the early stages of the war, while the army showed further reactions. Right now, they are working hard to reduce the violence and the gangs seem determined to expand their positions as much as possible before getting close to any kind of agreement.
Behind this renewed diplomatic momentum, in the case of the United States, stands President Donald Trump’s advisor on African affairs, Massad Boulos, who repeatedly stated on social media that a “firm text for a truce” had been presented and urged the parties to the conflict to accept the humanitarian proposal and implement it “immediately.” In Cairo, the new motivation occurred after the latest developments in the war revealed the inability of the Sudanese army, its main ally, to confront… Restoring control over the entire country by force after Progress achieved Last year, including taking Gartom.
In recent months, diplomatic efforts on behalf of Sudan have been directed through the Quartet formed by the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. But the Sudanese military government categorically rejects the participation of Abu Dhabi, which, despite its official denial, is considered the main external ally of the Rapid Support Forces, and provides broad military and political support. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in statements to the press, asked to “cut off” these arms supplies and support for the rebels, and admitted that he knew “who the parties involved are,” but he avoided speaking publicly to the United Arab Emirates, a close ally of Washington.
About The Author
