RSF ’to cut flow of oil unless Sudan army drone strikes cease’

The advisor to Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohammed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, El Pasha Tabik, has threatened what he described as a “decisive action” regarding the flow of oil if attacks by drones continue. Drones launched by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) carried out strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday targeting Kauda in South Kordofan, El Daein in East Darfur, and Babanusa in West Kordofan, resulting in deaths and injuries.

The Sudan Founding Alliance ‘Tasees’ government linked to the RSF said drone strikes on Ed Daein on Tuesday killed dozens of people. Sources from Ed Daein also reported deaths and injuries after the RSF targeted the city and its outskirts with drones on Wednesday.

Tabik described the army’s drone attacks as “systematic”, saying they pose a direct threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, paralyse civilian activity, and disrupt daily life.

According to UN reports, drone attacks since January have killed more than 880 people.

In a Facebook post, Tabik said: “If this criminal behaviour does not stop, I will take a decisive decision regarding the flow of oil, because people’s lives come above all other considerations.”

In December, the government of South Sudan announced an agreement with the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF under which the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) would protect facilities at the Heglig oilfield in West Kordofan.

At the time, it said South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit had reached the agreement after contacting the leaders of both sides in Sudan’s conflict to urge them to halt fighting around the oilfield.

Under the agreement, the SAF was to withdraw and RSF forces were to leave the area.

South Sudan’s oil is transported through a Sudanese pipeline beginning in the border area of Heglig, which currently produces about 50 per cent of Sudan’s crude oil, and stretches 1,610 kilometres to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Rights groups have criticised the warring parties for reaching an agreement concerning oil while failing to secure agreements on other issues.