Battles in West Kordofan as Sudan army resists RSF’s eastward push

Reports of the hopeless humanitarian concern and atrocities proceed to equine arsenic paramilitary RSF pushes eastwards.

The Sudan service is holding connected to its past stronghold successful West Kordofan arsenic the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) pushes to instrumentality power of the state eastbound of Darfur.

The service said connected Sunday it had repelled an onslaught against its office successful the municipality of Babnusa, which has been nether repeated attacks from the RSF.

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The paramilitary unit has been pushing eastwards successful caller weeks, having solidified power successful Darfur. The RSF run continues to incur reports of wide atrocities and a hopeless humanitarian situation.

On Saturday, RSF fighters released respective videos from wrong Babnusa. Several were shown claiming they were advancing on aggregate axes and would soon “liberate” the area.

A examination of outer images taken betwixt September 9 and November 13 by Al Jazeera revealed that the RSF violative successful Babnusa had earnestly damaged a fig of service facilities, with heavy fume rising from wrong the headquarters.

The images besides showed signs of drone targeting and extended harm to respective facilities surrounding the headquarters, with repeated shelling destroying overmuch of the infrastructure and restricting the army’s movements wrong the area.

However, much caller footage circulating online, which has been verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, showed soldiers with the 22nd Division of the Sudanese service successful Babnusa celebrating the seizure of armoured vehicles near down by retreating RSF fighters.

Intense battles are expected to proceed crossed the Kordofan portion successful cardinal Sudan implicit the coming weeks, with the RSF and authorities forces ignoring a ceasefire connection presented by the United States and determination stakeholders.

In North Kordofan, the RSF is pushing to instrumentality the strategic metropolis of el-Obeid, location to a large service airbase and a buffer for the capital, Khartoum.

The authorities forces, which person been warring the RSF since the civilian warfare broke retired successful April 2023, announced connected Saturday that their soldiers had recaptured Kazqil and Um Dam Haj Ahmed successful North Kordofan.

The RSF besides has its sights connected Kadugli, the superior of South Kordofan.

The result of the existent warring successful Kordofan volition mostly signifier the people of aboriginal subject operations, according to Colonel Hatem Karim al-Falahi, a subject adept who spoke to Al Jazeera.

He said the army’s quality to support strategical cities specified arsenic Babnusa volition person a important effect connected Sudan’s subject and determination equilibrium successful the weeks ahead, truthful the service has been trying to fortify antiaircraft lines and behaviour airdrops and different forms of aerial assistance.

‘Unimaginable suffering’

While the warring continues, the humanitarian concern remains catastrophic successful RSF-dominated parts of the state to the west.

In the aftermath of past month’s fall of el-Fasher, the past stronghold of authorities forces successful Darfur, aft 18 months of siege, reports of hunger, displacement and atrocities committed against civilians person go progressively urgent.

Sudan Doctors Network said successful a connection connected Sunday that it had confirmed 32 cases of rape among girls coming from el-Fasher conscionable implicit the past week.

The victims arrived successful the adjacent municipality of Tawila and recounted being raped either successful el-Fasher oregon connected the mode retired by RSF fighters.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Tawila, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher described “unimaginable suffering”.

“Darfur has go the world’s superior of quality suffering,” helium said, adding that planetary backing and enactment are woefully insufficient to code the needs connected the ground.