The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claim that Babnusa, west of West Kordofan, is under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Sudan’s military administration announced in a statement on Tuesday that it had resisted an RSF attack. The paramilitary group claimed the day before that West Kordofan, a significant city in central Sudan, was in complete control of Babnusa.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The paramilitary force took complete control of the Darfur region last month, and western Sudan at large via Babnusa.
Following a week-long siege, the RSF released videos showing its fighters removing an army base from Babnusa. The SAF maintained, however, that the city was still rife with fighting.
Our forces’ official statement read, “The RSF launched a new attack on the city, which our forces decisively rejected.”
Hiba Morgan from Khartoum reported on Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan that the army claimed that the battles are ongoing and that their soldiers are still residing there. However, “the RSF has taken control of that,” is what we can undoubtedly confirm.
She said that if the RSF regains control of Babnusa, it will “solidify its control over the West Kordofan region” and add “any major access ways to the western part of the country.”
According to Morgan, “Bombusa must pass for the Sudanese army to enter parts of Darfur or other parts of Kordofan,” making regaining control of Darfur even more difficult.
Other parts of Kordofan, including the southern region of Abbasiya Tagali, were reported to be experiencing ferocious clashes, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
Broken “ceasefire”
After capturing the city of el-Fasher, the army’s final holdout in Darfur, the RSF’s assault on Babnusa strengthens the group’s momentum.
Witnesses and international aid organizations on the ground have uncovered a large number of atrocities committed by the RSF. RSF militias are implicated in numerous murders, rapes, and kidnappings, according to evidence.
The RSF’s recent clashes also appear to have broken the unilateral ceasefire that was established following mediation between the “Quad” of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US.
The SAF has accused the RSF of continuing its attacks despite its declared truce, rejecting the terms of the Quad’s proposed ceasefire.
The government described the announced ceasefire as “nothing but a political and media ploy intended to cover up] the Sudanese people’s ongoing Emirati support and field movements.”
The UAE has frequently been accused of providing money and weapons to the RSF, but it has vehemently refrained from participating.
According to analysts, the RSF will likely move towards el-Obeid in North Kordofan if Babnusa completely falls.
The political shockwave, according to Kholood Khair, the founding director of UK-based risk management company Confluence Advisory, will be sizable if the city falls.
It’s a significant economic triumph, a regional capital, and a huge mercantile center. Additionally, it brings Khartoum’s RSF a few steps closer.
In March, the RSF was ordered to leave the Sudanese capital, with the SAF’s appearance to be on the rise during the more than two-year conflict.
The tables are now, however, turning once more. The SAF now faces a threat of losing Kordofan, after completely losing Darfur with the fall of El-Fasher.
