RSF-SAF clashes continue in Khartoum and North Korfodan

Battles continued for the second day in Jebel Aulia in southern Khartoum yesterday, causing mass displacement towards White Nile state. Clashes also continue in Omdurman and in El Obeid in North Kordofan.

Residents near Jebel Aulia told Radio Dabanga that the sounds of explosions and shelling renewed on Monday, to a lesser extent than on Sunday when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a major attack on the locality that guards a dam across the Nile.

“If the RSF capture the dam, which has a one-land road across the top of it, they will restore the link between their forces east and west of the Nile,” reported Sudan War Monitor on Sunday. “Capturing the city would also potentially open an invasion route into White Nile state. Unlike other bridges across the Nile, the Jebel Aulia dam bridge cannot be destroyed without flooding Khartoum.” 

The Jebel Aulia Emergency Room issued a call to locals to stay in their homes, close doors and windows, and not move around unless necessary. Witnesses informed Radio Dabanga of a “complete communications network and internet blackout” in the Jebel Aulia area.

Last Saturday saw the destruction of Khartoum’s Shambat Bridge which formed a strategic link between Omdurman and Khartoum North (Khartoum Bahri). The act has been condemned as a war crime by Yassir Arman, head of the SPLM-N Democratic Revolutionary Movement (DRM) and spokesperson for the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change Central Council (FFC-CC), in a post on X (formerly Twitter). 

At the time, Omar El Digeir, head of the Sudanese Congress Party, said that the partial destruction of the Shambat bridge was “a criminal act legally and morally.” 

The RSF also published numerous video clips alleging control of the El Nejoumi air defence base in Jebel Aulia.

A Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) spokesperson, Brig Gen Nabil Abdallah, denied that the RSF had taken control of El Nejoumi Air Base on Sunday. The SAF announced on Monday that their forces in Jebel Aulia had taken three combat vehicles, a 23-pound cannon, a Katyusha launcher, and several prisoners.

Omdurman 

At least 12 people were killed by shells falling on neighbourhoods in Karari in Omdurman on Sunday. Many wounded people were transferred to the El Nau Hospital, according to volunteers who spoke to Radio Dabanga.

Last week saw intense bouts of clashes between the SAF and RSF centred around the El Sawra and Ombadda neighbourhoods, resulting in multiple casualties. 

The situation worsened as airstrikes targeted locations near the Wad El Bashir Bridge in Ombadda, clouding the area with smoke. 

Widespread disruptions in the communication networks exacerbated the crisis, severely impacting residents. Both Zain and MTN networks experienced significant outages, hindering residents’ ability to stay connected. 

El Obeid 

El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, saw renewed clashes and artillery shelling between the SAF and RSF on Monday morning, wounding several locals.  

A witness told Radio th and the market. The initial attacks, alongside the SAF’s retaliatory bombing, lasted for approximately one hour. 

The bombing caused numerous injuries. The wounded were transferred to El Daman Hospital, while volunteers issued a call for blood donations. 

This led to “a state of terror and panic in the city,” they said. The market and commercial banks were closed. 

In September, medical doctor Amer Adam explained to Radio Dabanga that the siege imposed on El Obeid by the RSF in June, in addition to the continuous attacks by the RSF on the city, “have a significant negative impact on patients.”