RSF increases attacks on army-held territory in Sudan's Kordofan

Fierce battles are raging between Sudan's army and its civil war rival the Rapid Support Forces at several locations in Kordofan, with the paramilitary group believed to be close to seizing a major city in the region's western part.

The RSF has laid siege to Babanusa for more than a year, with troops from the army's 22nd Infantry Division fending off repeated attempts to dislodge them, including a major attack this week.

Unlike Darfur, where ethnic African communities are a significant segment of the population, Kordofan is dominated by nomadic, cattle-herding tribes of Arab heritage whose sons are fighting on the side of the RSF, according to Sami Saeed, a US-based Sudan expert.

"Those tribes make it much easier for the RSF to operate in Kordofan," said Mr Saeed. "For the RSF, controlling Kordofan also gives it valuable leverage with neighbouring South Sudan because it's home to the economically vital pipeline that carries crude oil from South Sudan to export terminals in Port Sudan on the Red Sea."

South Sudan, along with Chad and Libya, is the RSF's vital supply source.

For the army, losing Babanusa would be a serious setback in its 31-month war against the RSF, coming so soon after it was driven out last month from the city of El Fasher, its last foothold in the neighbouring Darfur region.

Like El Fasher, Babanusa has strategic significance, prompting the RSF to bring thousands of fighters from Darfur there to dislodge the army.

It is the nearest major urban centre to Darfur to the west and is on the western end of the road to the capital Khartoum to the east. The city is about 600km south-west of the capital and is close to oilfields near the border with South Sudan.

The RSF ordered residents to leave Babanusa soon after laying siege to the city in early 2024, making it easier for its fighters to enter and surround the garrison, which has received occasional air drops from army aircraft.

The RSF recently shot down an army transport plane that was trying to drop food and ammunition for the troops in Babanusa. The group is trying to dislodge the army from elsewhere in Kordofan that could be used as a launching pad for attacks on Darfur.

Displaced children from El Fasher play with toys at a camp in Al Dabbah, Sudan. Reuters

Another major flashpoint is the city of Al Obeid, a commercial and aid distribution centre in the north of Kordofan that the RSF has been trying