Both Sudan army and RSF claim control of Mount Kordofan

Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced control of the Mount Kordofan area near El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, after violent battles on Tuesday. The SAF reportedly attacked RSF sites in the area to secure a better field position in preparation for the battle for El Fasher, capital of North Darfur.

The RSF said in a press statement on Tuesday that they repelled two army attacks on Mount Kordofan and the Tandalti-Um Rawaba road, which aimed to open the Kosti White Road. The statement said that the RSF killed hundreds of army soldiers and were able to seize and destroy a number of combat vehicles, tanks and trucks.

For its part, the SAF announced it regained control of both Mount Kordofan and the headquarters of the Central Reserve Police forces (sanctioned by the USA in 2022) in El Obeid, and said that they inflicted large losses to the paramilitaries and combed a vital roads in the vicinity of Mount Kordofan.

Mount Kordofan is located 20 kilometres east of El Obeid. The area is of strategic importance as it connects North Kordofan with South Kordofan and White Nile state and borders roads linking El Obeid with Er Rahad and El Obeid with Kosti, south of Rabak, capital of white Nile state.

The RSF yesterday confirmed the killing of its commander in Kordofan, Abdelmunim Sheriya, and a number of paramilitary officers in an army attack on the Tandalti-Um Rawaba axis in North Kordofan on Tuesday.

Strategic area

Speaking with Radio Dabanga, El Basha Tebeig, advisor to RSF Commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, explained that the road connecting Kosti in White Nile state with the North Kordofan capital El Obeid is extremely important for delivering army supplies to El Obeid.

“We have been controlling Mount Kordofan since the beginning of the war, and the army is seeking to open the Kosti-El Obeid road in order to resume the delivery of supplies to the North Kordofan capital in preparation for the start of advanced operations in West Kordofan and North Darfur.”

The battles on the Kosti-Tandalti- Um Rawaba-El Obeid road were the fiercest of its kind since the outbreak of the war 11 months ago, Tebeig said, and added that the army suffered many losses in lives and equipment.

He claimed that the RSF managed to eliminate the El Sayyad [the hunter] formation set up by Shamseldin Kabbashi, deputy commander-in-chief of the SAF, during his visit to Tandalti in White Nile state in April.  

Kabbashi described El Sayyad, made up of SAF soldiers, security forces, and new recruits, a model formation in terms of “discipline, valour, and readiness to go into battle and achieve a decisive victory”.

The RSF advisor further ruled out a negative impact of the killing of commanders on military operations or on the morale of the forces. He told Radio Dabanga that the RSF operations are managed by a central force through a chain of command, and that the second commander assumes his duties immediately after the killing of the first commander.

Military expert Retd Lt Col Omar Arbab, however, debunked his claims, saying that the killing of Sheriya and the officers did have a large impact on the morale of the RSF foot soldiers.

He explained that the SAF attacks on the RSF in and around Mount Kordofan aimed to open the Kosti-El Obeid road, break the siege on the Haggana forces in El Obeid, and regain control of the city’s airport.

The El Sayyad formation was subjected to an ambush, he said, but it has not been possible to determine the extent of its losses.

Arbab expected the battles to continue during the coming days “as part of the two sides’ efforts to secure a better field situation in preparation for the big battle for El Fasher” in North Darfur, which is now for a large part besieged by the RSF.

Other experts say that the SAF, if it manages to take control of Mount Kordofan, will head towards the RSF-controlled areas in Er Rahad and Um Rawaba, to connect its forces stationed in White Nile state with those in El Obeid and South Kordofan.