The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said on Tuesday it had repelled an attack by the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the city of Babanusa, the army’s last stronghold in West Kordofan.
The announcement came in response to the RSF’s claim it had taken full control of the city following days of intense fighting, despite a unilateral three-month humanitarian truce announced by the RSF.
SAF Defends Babanusa
On Tuesday, the SAF confirmed it had decisively fended off a new attack by the RSF on Babanusa, Sudan Post reported citing a statement by the SAF’s official spokesperson.
The Sudanese army accused the RSF of using the self-declared unilateral truce as a “political and media maneuver” to intensify attacks on Babanusa, adding that RSF fighters had continued drone and artillery attacks on the city despite the declared truce. The army stated that its forces had successfully repelled the attack.
Furthermore, the statement accused the UAE of providing military support to the RSF. “Yesterday, it launched a new attack on the city, which our forces decisively repelled. We affirm that the so-called ceasefire announced by the lying rebel, (Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo) Hemedti, is nothing but a political and media ploy intended to cover up their field movements and the continuous flow of Emirati support that fuels the war and kills Sudanese people,” it noted.
“The Armed Forces confirm their commitment to international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians, and the facilitation of humanitarian work. They will not allow the exploitation of the humanitarian situation as a cover for military movements that worsen the crisis,” the statement said.
RSF Claims
In a statement on Monday, the RSF announced that the paramilitary group captured Babanusa in West Kordofan, after taking full control over the army’s 22nd Infantry Division. It added that the operation came in response to an “unexpected attack” by army units and allied militias.
“Our response was an overwhelming victory as our forces were able to fully repel and foil the attack before they carried out a precise military operation that led to the liberation of the 22nd Division and the city of Babanusa in its entirety,” the RSF said, claiming that the operation inflicted heavy losses on the army forces, according to Sudan Post.
Earlier on Monday, the RSF said it had repelled an attack by the SAF and its affiliated militias, accusing them of exploiting a self-declared humanitarian truce to increase attacks on a number of cities and towns.
The RSF on Sunday intensified attacks in Babanusa, using drones and heavy artillery to bomb the army’s 22nd Infantry Division headquarters and the 89th Brigade in the town.
Babanusa is a critical military hub and a strategic rail junction, located 700 km southwest of the capital Khartoum. It has been largely deserted since an RSF offensive in January 2024 displaced most of its 80,000 residents, according to Sudan Tribune.
The Kordofan region, which includes North, South, East and West Kordofan, serves as a strategic corridor that links Khartoum and central Sudan to Darfur.
Insistence on Dismantling RSF
The Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and SAF’s Commander-in-Chief, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, reiterated his rejection of any peace plans that involve the RSF.
On Monday, Al-Burhan said that any solution or initiative that does not include dismantling and disarming the RSF is “completely unacceptable” to the Sudanese government. He added that the options are limited given the size of suffering and bloodshed across Sudan, leaving one solution which is the “elimination of the militia,” Al-Burhan stressed. He also vowed accountability for all who committed crimes.
In November, Al-Burhan rejected a proposal backed by the Quad group, which involves the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE, slamming it as the “worst yet.” He also rejected the involvement of the UAE in the group, as Abu Dhabi faces accusations of backing the RSF with weapons and mercenaries – a claim it has repeatedly denied.
The SAF commander has set preconditions for peace talks, including the full withdrawal of the RSF and its affiliated mercenaries to designated locations, as well as handing over their arms to the SAF and allowing displaced civilians to return to their homes.
Meanwhile, the RSF declared a unilateral three-month humanitarian truce but it did not commit to it.
Humanitarian Concerns
The clashing claims over Babanusa raises concerns over the worsening humanitarian situation in Sudan, particularly after the RSF seized of El-Fasher in Darfur. The RSF has been widely accused of committing atrocities against civilians, including mass killings and sexual violence, driving them to flee the paramilitary’s areas of control.
On Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that 1,625 people left Kertala in South Kordofan in one day as the security conditions deteriorated amid violations committed by the RSF.
The war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023, has triggered what the UN called “the world’s most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis,” killing tens of thousands of people, displacing over 12 million inside Sudan and to neighboring countries, and pushing parts of the country into famine amid cholera outbreaks.
It has also 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.
