Drone Strikes Reach Al-Obeid as RSF Sweeps Through Kordofan

By Al Mayadeen English

Drone strikes and ground offensives by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are intensifying in Sudan’s Kordofan region, especially around al-Obeid.

Drone strikes have intensified in and around Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state in central Sudan, as the Rapid Support Forces close in on the army-controlled city, residents report. At least two recent attacks have caused significant civilian casualties.

Al-Obeid, one of Sudan’s most important cities, lies in the wider Kordofan region that separates the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) stronghold in Darfur from the army-controlled eastern half of the country. After consolidating control over western Darfur in late October, the RSF shifted its focus to Kordofan, with drone strikes reported weekly in and around al-Obeid.

At the same time, RSF ground forces began taking over towns and villages across the Kordofan region and besieging cities in South Kordofan state, residents said. The force has not yet approached Al-Obeid itself, where daily life continues despite the looming threat and an exodus of residents late last year as the conflict intensified. Army and allied forces remain stationed on the outskirts of the city.

Kordofan witnesses widespread RSF massacres

More than 100 civilians were killed in the first half of December across the Kordofan region, according to the UN human rights office. Satellite imagery from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab shows about 100 new burial mounds in two cemeteries in Al-Obeid between January 2 and 14.

The imagery also shows damage to the city’s power station and the construction of berms around the city, possibly as a defense against future RSF encirclement.

Residents in Al-Obeid reported that the deadliest incident occurred on November 5 in the village of Al-Luweib. Dozens had gathered from afar for a funeral when an ambulance belonging to the army-aligned Joint Forces drove past. Shortly afterward, a drone, believed by residents to be operated by the RSF, fired on the gathering, killing 65 people, all women and children, according to four residents who spoke to Reuters.

Darfur governor warns of division

Meanwhile, the governor of Darfur and head of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Minni Arko Minawi, warned of “catastrophic” developments aimed at creating a new political reality dividing Sudan between two authorities.

In an interview for Darfur 24 newspaper, Minawi said, “Treating the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces as government counterparts during humanitarian ceasefire negotiations is a dangerous slide, as it grants parallel legitimacy that could lead the country into a state of divided authority and the fragmentation of national sovereignty, ultimately resulting in isolated local administrations across Sudan’s states.”

Minawi also sharply criticized regional actors, accusing the United Arab Emirates of seeking to strengthen its influence in western Sudan through local alliances. He added that “the coordination between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People’s Movement is directly aimed at imposing a new demographic and political reality” in Darfur and South Kordofan.

Sudan reviewing truce

Earlier on Wednesday, Sudan’s army began reviewing a new proposal from the United States and Saudi Arabia for a truce with the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a government source told AFP.

The Security and Defence Council, a high-level body composed of army and allied government officials, “is holding a meeting today to discuss the US-Saudi initiative for a humanitarian truce and a ceasefire,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Fighting between Sudan’s army and the RSF, ongoing since April 2023, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced around 11 million people, turning much of the country into a humanitarian crisis.