Sudan: RSF shelling in North Kordofan kills 11, including children

At least 11 civilians, including three children, were killed in western Sudan’s North Kordofan state in what local medics described as one of the most brutal assaults carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the conflict erupted in April 2023.

According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the attack targeted the Shaq Al-Noum area and left an additional 31 people wounded, including nine women, some reportedly pregnant.

The organisation condemned the assault as a flagrant violation of humanitarian principles and international law, urging the international community, including the United Nations and African Union, to take urgent and decisive action to halt such systematic abuses and ensure accountability.

Meanwhile, the RSF blamed the Sudanese Armed Forces for launching deadly airstrikes using barrel bombs on residential areas in Al-Fulah, a city in West Kordofan.

The RSF, led by commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, claimed the strikes were part of what they called the army’s broader campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

The Sudanese army has not issued a statement in response to the RSF’s accusations.

North Kordofan has seen a significant escalation in violence amid the ongoing power struggle between the Sudanese military and the RSF.

The war, which began on 15 April 2023, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 14 million people across the country.

On Thursday, the Sudan Doctors’ Network also reported that RSF artillery shelling struck neighbourhoods in Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, killing at least four civilians and wounding others- including women and elderly individuals.

The renewed fighting has forced the displacement of approximately 700 households in North Kordofan between July 4 and July 9, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Violence has sharply intensified across the Kordofan and Darfur regions, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation. Civilians are increasingly cut off from safe passage, food supplies, and medical care.

Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian group, has warned that the Kordofan region has become a central battleground in the conflict. Fighting in North, South, and West Kordofan has severely limited access to essential resources.

"In Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, our team describes a city under siege. Roads have been cut off, supply lines have collapsed, and residents are walking miles just to search for salt or matches," said Kadry Furany, Sudan country director for Mercy Corps.

Meanwhile, the day before, AFP reported that heavy clashes had broken out in El-Fasher, a key city in Darfur, as RSF fighters advanced.

The Sudanese army reportedly recaptured several strategic positions in the city’s southern and western districts, inflicting significant losses on the paramilitary group.

El-Fasher remains the last major city in Darfur under government control and has come under sustained attack since the RSF lost its grip on the capital, Khartoum, earlier this year.