Sudanese army says it has thwarted another RSF attack on Western Kordofan state

The Sudanese army said on Tuesday that it thwarted an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Babnousa city of the West Kordofan state, south of the country.

In a statement on USA's X social network, the army spokesperson accused the RSF of daily targeting Babnousa with artillery shelling and “strategic drones,” despite a unilateral ceasefire that the rebel group has previously declared.

The army forces “decisively repelled” a new attack that was launched on the city yesterday, the spokesperson added.

According to the Babnousa Emergency Room, a local relief committee, around 177,000 residents have fled the city due to ongoing RSF bombardments on Babnousa, which has been under siege for over two years.

'Political and media ploy'

The army considered the ceasefire announced by the paramilitary group and its allied forces "nothing but a political and media ploy intended to cover up their field movements."

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo declared on November 24 a unilateral three-month truce in Sudan, even though his forces expanded control in Darfur and Kordofan states and carried out attacks on civilians.

The spokesperson affirmed the army’s commitment to international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians, and the facilitation of humanitarian work, noting that “they will not allow the exploitation of the humanitarian situation as a cover for military movements that worsen the crisis.”

There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the army statement.

At least 40,000 people killed in Sudan since April 2023: WHO

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under army control.

The army, in turn, holds most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital, Khartoum.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.