🇸🇩 RSF Raids Fuel Catastrophe in Sudan’s el-Obeid as Civilians Flee in Droves

 

As the RSF storms through North Kordofan, the once-bustling provincial capital of el-Obeid is fast becoming the epicentre of Sudan’s deepening humanitarian crisis.

Zig Diaries Humanitarian
Date: Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Time: 14:15 WAT
Location: El-Obeid, Sudan

Renewed violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan's North Kordofan has escalated displacement and worsened access to aid in the war-torn region.

On a quiet morning in Kazkeel village, Sudan, breakfast was abruptly interrupted by the crackle of gunfire. It was June 25, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had launched another assault — this time on the heartland of North Kordofan.

The attackers came on motorbikes, torching huts and fields. Sixty-year-old Hamisa had barely enough time to flee with her seven teenage children, siblings, and elderly mother. Behind them, her village dissolved into chaos.

“We saw six young men from our village gunned down in front of us,” she recounted through tears. “We escaped with nothing but the clothes on our backs.”

Their destination was el-Obeid — the state capital now overcrowded with thousands like them. But safety here is tenuous. Aid is scarce, shelters overcrowded, and fear palpable. Rumours swirl that the RSF is preparing to besiege the city, echoing past offensives that left entire communities in ruin.

Since civil war broke out in April 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Sudan has plunged into one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. The RSF’s scorched-earth tactics — including reports of women and children being executed — have intensified, pushing countless families into displacement.

El-Obeid is a strategic prize: the SAF depends on it for logistics and air support into Darfur and to hold off RSF advances toward the capital, Khartoum. Analysts warn that losing it could shift the war’s balance — and spell catastrophe for those who have already lost everything.

Hamisa, now living in a cramped hut on the outskirts of el-Obeid, holds her children close. “The children are terrified. They think the RSF will come for us again,” she said.

🏷️ Tags: Sudan Conflict, North Kordofan, RSF Attacks, Humanitarian Crisis, el-Obeid, War in Sudan
#SudanConflict #RSF #HumanitarianCrisis #elObeid #ZigHumanitarian