Fierce battles in South Kordofan forced over 1,000 Sudanese to flee their homes in one day, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The UN agency attributed the mass displacement to the worsening security conditions resulting from violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as it engages in heavy clashes with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
RSF Abuses
The IOM stated on Sunday that more than 1,600 civilians fled the town of Kertala in South Kordofan within 24 hours due to rising insecurity resulting from the RSF abuses, reported Anadolu Agency citing a statement by the UN agency.
The IOM’s displacement tracking matrix estimated that 1,625 people left Kertala on November 28 as the security conditions deteriorated amid violations committed by the paramilitary group. Those displaced people relocated to sites across Dalami locality, where conditions remain highly volatile and tense.
The RSF and its allied militias have been widely accused of mass killings and sexual violence, most notably after the fall of El-Fasher, driving civilians to flee their areas of control.
Army Advances in South Kordofan
Earlier on Sunday, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) advanced in South Kordofan, seizing several strategic villages west of Abbasiya Tagali following tense battles with the RSF and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).
Video footages posted by army soldiers on social media showed army troops entering Al-Damra, west of Al-Abbasiya Taqali. Other videos showed SAF forces advancing toward Tabassa and Gurdud Nama, potentially encircling militia fighters in Al-Mureib.
According to pro-army activists, the SAF now controls Tabassa, Al-Damira, Al-Shawaya, Al-Jubailat, Al-Sanadra, Gurdud and Jama. Furthermore, the SAF managed to fend off an RSF attack on Kertala on Friday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, the RSF on Sunday intensified attacks in Babnusa in West Kordofan, using drones and heavy artillery to bomb the army’s 22nd Infantry Division headquarters and the 89th Brigade in the town, reported Sudan Tribune. The escalation in attacks come despite the unilateral humanitarian truce recently announced by the paramilitary group.
The Kordofan region, which includes North, South, East and West Kordofan, serves as a strategic corridor that links Khartoum and central Sudan to Darfur. The RSF has been pushing to seize Al-Obeid, a strategic city in North Kordofan that hosts a key army airbase and acts as a buffer to the capital.
Commitment to Peace
The Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and SAF’s Commander-in-Chief, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, met on Sunday with the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, in Port Sudan, reported Sudan News Agency (SUNA).
During their meeting, Al-Burhan reiterated his government’s commitment to achieving comprehensive peace across Sudan in a way that meets the aspirations of the Sudanese people.
Moreover, he expressed the government’s readiness to cooperate with the UN and its agencies across the humanitarian, developmental and social fields to achieve security and stability in Sudan and the entire region.
The UN Envoy, for his part, said that his visit to Sudan aimed to follow up on the political, security, and humanitarian situation in Sudan, upon the directives of the UN Secretary-General.
He added that there is still a chance for launching a Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue to end the bloodshed and achieve stability, emphasizing the UN’s readiness to cooperate in that regard.
SAF’s Conditions for Peace
The war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023, has effectively split the country in two, as the SAF controls the center, north and east, while the RSF holds the entire Darfur region and parts of Kordofan, with each side declaring a government.
Mediation efforts to restore peace have stumbled as both warring sides rejected several ceasefire proposals. Most recently, the SAF outlined its conditions to engage in “serious and responsible” negotiations. These include the full withdrawal of the RSF and its affiliated mercenaries to designated locations, as well as the surrender of their arms to the SAF.
Moreover, Al-Burhan denounced the involvement of the UAE in the Quad group, which also includes the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Abu Dhabi has faced mounting accusations of backing the RSF with weapons and mercenaries – a claim it has repeatedly denied.
