Battles on four axes in North Kordofan, intensity decreases in El Fasher

Fighting in North Kordofan escalated in four axes, while the city of El Fasher witnessed limited clashes in a number of axes as artillery shelling continued. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Wednesday that they had repelled an attack on the Rahid El Nuba area in North Kordofan. It pointed out that a large number of army commanders were killed and vehicles and quantities of weapons and military equipment were seized. Meanwhile, social media circulated news that an officer with the rank of colonel was killed during the battles in North Kordofan.

Sources close to the army said it had repelled an attack on the Ad El Sidr area near Jabra El Sheikh. The army had recently taken control of the area of counting El Sidr.

The army has recently intensified its military operations in North Kordofan and managed to take control of the city of Bara and move towards the city of Jabra el-Sheikh.

The fighting in neighbouring areas is aimed at controlling the export route that connects Khartoum to North Kordofan. The axes of Bara, Jabra El Sheikh and Kazkil also witnessed the continuation of the battles.

Local sources confirmed that there were large crowds of the Rapid Support Forces in the northern areas of the army-controlled city of Parra.

Drone Attacks

On the other hand, yesterday evening, the Rapid Support Forces bombed an ammunition depot with a drone inside the Fifth Infantry Division in the city of El Obeid, killing and wounding a number of army members.

Eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga that the attack targeted an ammunition depot belonging to the air defense inside the headquarters of the Fifth Division, at around 19:00 on Tuesday. The attack caused the destruction of the warehouse and deaths and injuries among army personnel within the division, they said, noting that ambulances rushed to the scene after the attack.

On the other hand, it was reported that the armed forces in the city of El Obeid shot down a third drone belonging to the Rapid Support Forces on Tuesday evening, becoming the third in two days, as one of them had fallen towards the Hamadiya area, and the other near the Dagu area.

Artillery shelling in El Fasher

The Coordination of the Fasher Resistance Committees said that the city witnessed limited clashes on Wednesday in a number of axes, but they quickly calmed down. Cautious calm has been taking hold on some fronts since then, she said. It added that the intensive artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces is still continuing, targeting residential neighbourhoods.

For its part, the emergency room of the Western Sector in El Fasher has launched a 10-day emergency kitchen to provide urgent meals to the most affected families. The Chamber appealed to the humanitarian authorities to intervene urgently to save lives.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has also sounded the alarm over the escalation of violence and growing humanitarian needs in the Darfur region.

In El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, reports of heavy fighting yesterday in the northeastern part of the city point to a new escalation in a protracted siege.

OCHA warns that this latest violence exacerbates the already devastating impact of ongoing attacks on Abu Shouk camp for displaced people, where displacement continues despite the lack of safe routes out of the area and severe protection risks, according to information shared by local sources and the UN Human Rights Office.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterates its call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the urgent protection of civilians, the establishment of a humanitarian truce in and around El Fasher, and the provision of safe and unhindered access for those in need, in line with international humanitarian law.