RSF and Kababish clash in North Kordofan

REHEID EL NUBA – July 24, 2023

At least 24 Kababish tribesmen, eight café owners and their supporters, and nine Rapid Support Forces (RSF) troops were killed in three separate gunfights in Jabret El Sheikh in North Kordofan on Saturday. The situation is tense and subject to escalation according to local sources.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a witness reported that there was an initial altercation between a group of bandits and cafeteria owners at the Reheid El Nuba market in Jabret El Sheikh, roughly 150km from Omdurman.

“Armed men in a pick-up truck entered one of the cafeterias at the market area and claimed that one of the pick-up trucks parked next to the café belonged to them,” he said.

“When the owners of the cafeterias at the square protested, a gunfight resulted in the death of eight café owners and their supporters. Others were injured. Several attackers were also wounded.”

Kababish tribesmen then formed a search posse, which clashed with RSF soldiers at a control post on the Omdurman-El Obeid road near Reheid El Nuba on the same day. Eight Kababish were killed and others were injured. The clash reportedly led to losses among the RSF soldiers too.

According to other local sources, another gunfight took place between RSF soldiers and members of a Kababish search posse in the same area on Saturday. The clash reportedly led to the death of 16 Kababish and the injury of 21 others while nine RSF paramilitaries were killed, and nine others were wounded.

The sources confirmed that there is tension in the area and that the events are subject to escalation.

Radio Dabanga has not been able to contact the authorities and native administration leaders in the area to obtain all the information about the reasons behind the violent incidents.

The Kababish are traditionally a nomadic Arab camel-herding tribe who live in North Kordofan. They are comprised of about 19 different clans, each with their own nazir*.

* A nazir is a state-appointed administrative chief of a tribe, according to the native administration system in Sudan.