Rapid Support Forces besiege North Kordofan capital, raise levies

The humanitarian situation is worsening in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, reportedly as a result of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) siege imposed on the city. RSF soldiers are collecting levies on vehicles on the road to El Nahud in West Kordofan.

“The RSF are besieging El Obeid in the north, south, and west,” a listener told Radio Dabanga from the city.

“The already soaring prices of consumer goods have risen again,” he stated. “New deliveries from outside the city have become more expensive, as RSF elements are collecting levies on the vehicles on the road connecting El Obeid with El Nahud in West Kordofan.”

He also complained about the “silence of the state government”, saying that “the economic chaos is growing without the intervention of local authorities to stop the greed of the merchants driving up the prices”.

El Obeid is suffering from power and water outages due to the RSF control over the main power station and the water sources in the southern part of the city, the source added. “Electricity returned yesterday after a two-day outage. After negotiations with the RSF command, repair teams were allowed to carry out their tasks.”

As for the levies, he explained that “small cars pay between SDG10,000 [US$ 16.55] to SDG15,000, while cargo trucks pay between SDG100,000 to SDG60,000. The amount may increase depending on the goods and sometimes reaches SDG300,000. In most cases, bargaining takes place, but the owners of the vehicles do pay in the end.”

The source denied that the army took control of the El Obeid-El Nahud part in North Kordofan, following attacks carried out by members of the Fifth Infantry Division last week. “The Rapid Support Forces withdrew from Abu El Ghor and 13 other places, but they re-deployed in adjacent areas and are still imposing their taxes on the traffic on the road.”

Others told Radio Dabanga from El Obeid that caution prevails in the city and surroundings. “Civilians were slaughtered in the attacks of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on RSF soldiers in the Ramla area and the areas northwest of El Obeid, and people are expecting retaliatory attacks from the RSF.”

El Obeid has been the scene of on-and-off battles between the warring SAF and RSF since war broke out in mid-April last year. In particular in September and October, the fighting was fierce. Many people in the city were killed and injured, and shops and markets closed their doors.