Paramilitary bombardment on Sunday targeted the strategic Sudanese city of El-Obeid, which resulted in at least nine deaths among civilians and 21 other casualties, according to a medical source.
El-Obeid, the state capital of North Kordofan, was attacked by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been in a battle with the Sudanese army since April 2023. Two of the wounded later died, bringing the number of fatalities to rise, a hospital source who identified himself on condition of anonymity for safety reasons said.
Witnesses reported heavy shelling, with a public transport bus full of passengers hit by a single shell. The attack was the third in a row of RSF attacks from the east and north.
Strategic City Under Fire
Last month, Sudan’s army broke a nearly two-year RSF siege on El-Obeid, a crucial city linking the capital Khartoum to the western Darfur region. The RSF now controls almost all of Darfur, while the army holds northern and eastern regions and has recently regained ground in Khartoum and central Sudan.
The conflict, fuelled by a struggle for power between army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than 12 million people, producing one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet.
Growing Civilian Toll
The conflict, as reported by the United Nations, has claimed over 24,000 lives and displaced over 14 million 30% of Sudan’s total population. It is estimated that 3.2 million Sudanese have crossed the border into neighbouring countries.
The human rights office of the UN stated that more than 4,200 civilians died in 2024 alone, although the number is actually higher.
