Sudan Nashra: Hundreds killed in RSF onslaught on North Kordofan villages, military deploys reinforcements to Bara

Mada

18-07-2025

In one of the deadliest waves of violence against civilians in the state, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed hundreds of people last week in villages surrounding the city of Bara in North Kordofan, amid a communications blackout that the Sudan Doctors Network described as deliberate.
The scenes were 'horrific,' the network's spokesperson, Ahmed al-Nour Raqmallah, told Mada Masr, warning that the death toll could rise due to the collapse of medical services in the area.
At the front lines, fierce fighting erupted in Um Samima, also in North Kordofan, where several senior military officers and commanders from military-allied groups were killed on Sunday. The RSF briefly captured parts of the town before the military retook control. The paramilitary group's advance had threatened to tighten its siege on Obeid, the state's capital, from three directions. A field source anticipated heavy fighting in the area over the coming days.
On the political front, Prime Minister Kamel Idris continued to move forward with cabinet appointments, naming five new ministers this week — three of whom were nominated by armed groups signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement. Ahmed al-Mansoury was also appointed minister of livestock and fisheries resources. The newly appointed official is a businessman whose ties with the United Arab Emirates have raised concern about a potential conflict of interest in a critical sector as political tensions between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi grow over the UAE's backing of the RSF.
The pro-military Democratic Bloc likewise rejected any Emirati involvement in peace efforts in their first meeting for a year, voicing support for mediation led by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The statement followed Washington's move to revive the initiative to bring the three countries together with the UAE to address the conflict in Sudan. A Saudi diplomatic delegation also held meetings with Sudanese officials in Port Sudan last week in a bid to restart peace talks, though a source in the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) downplayed the talks, describing them as routine.
Meanwhile, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Revolutionary Democratic Current, led by Yasir Arman, submitted a reform memo to the anti-war Sumud alliance on Tuesday, urging it to prioritize civilian protection over political maneuvering.
Civilians continued to bear the brunt of RSF violence in North Darfur, where indiscriminate shelling on Fasher and its nearby displacement camp killed more than a dozen people. The military repelled a major RSF ground assault on the city of Fasher on Wednesday following hours of clashes.
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Military holds ground in Um Samima after RSF attack, Sudan Shield Forces reinforcements deploy to Kordofan
Fierce fighting broke out on Sunday in the town of Um Samima, west of North Kordofan's capital, Obeid, with control of the area briefly switching between the military and the RSF before the military regained full control and pushed RSF units back.
The RSF has been battling to retain control of North Kordofan for weeks, fighting with foreign mercenaries in its ranks and seeking to stave off an offensive the military launched in early June.
Several senior officers from the military and commanders from allied armed groups were killed in the clashes.
RSF fighters infiltrated Um Samima in the early hours of Sunday and launched a surprise attack on military defenses, initially seizing parts of the town, an official in Obeid told Mada Masr.
But the military regrouped for a counterattack, the official said. A military source also told Mada Masr that the military had deliberately drawn RSF fighters into Um Samima before the joint force of allied armed movements launched a flanking maneuver, laying a series of ambushes that led to the RSF's defeat. The military pursued the retreating fighters westward to the outskirts of Khawi in West Kordofan, the source added.
Following its brief advance, the RSF issued a statement claiming full control over Um Samima. Spokesperson Fateh Gureishy described the operation as part of the group's broader military strategy to expand its presence in the area. The statement said RSF fighters killed more than 470 soldiers and seized a large cache of weapons and equipment.
Several commanders in the military's camp were confirmed to have been killed. The military-allied Justice and Equality Movement announced the death of its Kordofan front commander Taher Arga, while the Baraa bin Malik Brigade confirmed the death of its field commander Hesham Beiram. According to the military source, other senior officers were killed, including a commander in the military's elite brigade and a colonel from the Fifth Infantry Division.
But military troops recaptured the town within hours, as declared by Darfur Governor and Sudan Liberation Movement leader Minni Arko Minnawi, who is fighting in the joint force.
The joint force later stated that they had killed over 300 RSF fighters, captured more than 25 others, and seized 102 RSF vehicles and 11 anti-aircraft guns. They also posted video footage showing close-range combat and RSF fighters fleeing on foot after abandoning their vehicles.
Um Samima, which the military recaptured on May 11, has become a strategic stronghold in the western battleground. The town now serves as a key launchpad for military operations into West Kordofan and acts as a forward defensive line, protecting Obeid.
According to the military source, the RSF sought to seize Um Samima to complete a three-pronged siege of Obeid. The group had already consolidated its presence in Bara to the north and last week expanded its control over the Kazgil area to the south. But following its latest defeat, the source said, the RSF may be forced to scale back its objectives and focus instead on defending Khawi and preventing a renewed military offensive.
On Thursday, the military called up large reinforcements from its allied Sudan Shield Forces to the Kordofan front lines, a field source in the group told Mada Masr, anticipating that the Bara axis and nearby areas will see heavy battles in the coming days.
Another military source told Mada Masr that after reclaiming Omdurman and Khartoum, the military relocated its western operations command, led by Khaled al-Shami, to Obeid to manage the wider western front.
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Hundreds killed in spike in RSF attacks on North Kordofan's villages
Hundreds of civilians have been killed over the past two weeks in a series of RSF raids on villages across Kordofan, marking one of the deadliest escalations in the central region that has seen weeks of clashes.
Forty-six civilians were killed in the Hilla Hamid village alone in an RSF attack on the Um Gerfa locality on July 13, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
'The scene was horrific,' the network's spokesperson, Ahmed al-Nour Raqmallah, told Mada Masr. With most health centers out of service, he warned that the death toll could rise further due to the lack of medical care. The doctors network said 37 people were injured in the same attack.
North Kordofan's Bara area has seen the worst of the spike in violence, with at least 300 people killed in the locality between July 10 and 13, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday. The attacks came amid a communication blackout, which has made it difficult to verify the full extent of the casualties.
Violence against civilians in the region has increased steadily over recent weeks. But a sharp escalation began on July 10, a former administrative officer from the area told Mada Masr.
RSF fighters looted the Nabda area west of Bara, the officer said, while villagers attempted to fend off the assailants using light arms, inflicting losses on the RSF.
However, the RSF fighters regrouped and retaliated over the following days with heavily armed combat vehicles, killing scores of civilians, the source said, and forcing widespread displacement in villages surrounding Bara.
The RSF attacked more than 100 villages in North Kordofan over the past two weeks, according to a local source from the Shag al-Noum village — which the former officer said has been burned to the ground in the latest attack. The local source compared the wave of assaults to that the paramilitary group carried out late last year in Gezira State.
The Sudan Doctors Network said that the continued RSF assaults in North Kordofan are taking place under a deliberate media blackout, exacerbating civilian suffering and triggering new waves of displacement toward Obeid, a city already overwhelmed by overcrowding and severe shortages of food, water and medical supplies.
'The steady influx of newly displaced families is putting additional strain on already overstretched resources,' OCHA said.
While the doctors network urged human rights and humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately, document the violations and press for an end to the attacks, the UN agency renewed its appeal for urgent humanitarian funding, noting that only 23 percent of Sudan's response plan has been financed to date, receiving just $950 million out of the total required amount.
North Kordofan has seen a steady escalation in violence in recent months as it became a major battleground between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces following the military's full capture of Khartoum.
The violence has also spread to neighboring West Kordofan, where more than 20 people were killed last week in RSF raids on the villages of Fula and Abu Zabad, including victims of an airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families, OCHA said.
The build-up of RSF operations against civilians in Kordofan began weeks ago, on June 15, with a raid on the villages of Bereima Rashid and Shogeifat, north of Nuhud in West Kordofan. RSF fighters looted homes, stole money and phones, and abducted three people whose whereabouts remain unknown, a source in the Dar Hamid emergency room told Mada Masr.
On the same day, another RSF unit stormed the village of Shuwal, west of Bara, killing four civilians, a source in the village said.
The RSF resumed its raids on June 25, targeting the village of Sunut, northeast of Obeid. The fighters looted homes and terrorized residents, forcing them to flee, a security source in North Kordofan's emergency committee told Mada Masr. That same day, an RSF unit raided the villages of Alhaguna and Lameina in the Kazgil locality, killing 22 civilians and injuring five, two of whom later died of their wounds, according to the source.
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Sources note concerns around new Cabinet appointees: Mining minister's conflict of interest, livestock minister's UAE ties
New faces were selected to head the ministries of mining and livestock and fisheries as Prime Minister Kamil Idris moved forward with Cabinet appointments this week, naming five new ministers, including three that were nominated by armed groups signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement.
Idris has undertaken a series of appointments in recent weeks as his initial vision for a technocratic, non-partisan cabinet effectively unraveled last week in a meeting with TSC members, held after weeks of pressure to secure the armed groups' allocations under the Juba peace deal. The meeting concluded with a reaffirmation of their entitlements, thawing a stalemate that had been in place since Idris took office in late May.
Following five days of consultations at his office in Port Sudan's ministerial complex, Idris issued the new appointments on Tuesday, a member of the selection committee told Mada Masr.
The Minerals Ministry went to the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), led by Minni Arko Minawi, with the appointment of Nour Addaem Taha, the movement's assistant leader for media affairs. Minnawi personally backed Taha's nomination, the leader's office told Mada Masr, adding that he has full confidence in him.
In light of Taha's ties to the mining sector, however, his appointment stirred controversy within the movement. Taha holds a senior role at a mining company managed by his family, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest, a former official at the Minerals Ministry told Mada Masr. Other currents that support former minister Mohamed Bashir Abu Namo, also an SLM (Minnawi) member, also objected to Taha's nomination.
Taha also faced public criticism from certain political groups over his views on Israel. Sudan formulated a deal with Tel Aviv to normalize relations in 2023, but its completion was postponed indefinitely by the outbreak of Sudan's war. The Sudanese Against Normalization group's general secretary, Muzafar al-Dageel, told Mada Masr that Taha's two-year residence in Tel Aviv casts doubt on his political orientation.
The Human Resources and Social Development portfolio went to the political secretary of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Moatasem Ahmed, a prominent political figure within JEM who played a key role in the negotiations and implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement in 2020.
The ministerial post is the second for JEM, following the reinstatement of its leader Gibril Ibrahim as Finance Minister, last week.
The Infrastructure and Transportation Ministry went to Seif al-Nasr al-Tigany Haroun Gaber of the Sudanese Liberation Forces Alliance, led by TSC member Abdallah Yahya.
Idris also appointed Ahmed al-Mansoury as livestock and fisheries minister. Mansoury maintains extensive business ties with Emirati firms, particularly in the food and livestock sectors, according to a source in Sudan's Chambers of Commerce.
Mansoury established Al-Rawabi Dairy and Livestock Company in the UAE in 1989 and is regarded as an experienced figure in managing agricultural and livestock projects internationally.
But his connections to the Emirati market have raised concerns in some political circles. Such affiliations, a former official at the Livestock Ministry told Mada Masr, could compromise the independence of decision-making in this vital sector.
Tensions between Sudan and the UAE have mounted steadily during the war due to Emirati backing for the RSF. Yet despite the political strain, commercial ties between the two countries remain largely unaffected, a source in the Central Bank of Sudan said, with Sudanese imports from the UAE standing at around US$1.3 billion.
Idris also reinstated former Information Minister Khaled al-Easar, a close associate of the prime minister.
With these appointments, Idris's 'government of hope' now includes 15 ministers out of a total of 22 positions.
The key Foreign Ministry portfolio remains unresolved. A senior official at the ministry told Mada Masr that the prime minister is still struggling to settle on a candidate. In the meantime, Ambassador Ali Omar Siddig is expected to continue to serve as acting minister until a consensus is reached on a replacement.
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Military repels RSF attack on Fasher, shelling kills over a dozen civilians
Military forces celebrate after repelling RSF attack on Fasher. July 16. Source: X
Military-allied armed groups celebrate victory over RSF in Fasher. July 16. Source: X
In North Darfur's Fasher, the military and its allied forces repelled a new ground assault by the RSF on Wednesday amid ongoing shelling by the paramilitary group on the city and nearby displacement camps.
The RSF attempted to advance on Fasher from the southwest before the assault was pushed back by the military, the joint force, resistance groups and mobilized civilian fighters, a field source in the joint force told Mada Masr.
The fighting stretched from dawn until 6 pm and resulted in the death of RSF commander Adam Eissa al-Geneidy, according to Fasher's Sixth Infantry Division.
Artillery exchanges between the two sides continued throughout the week, the joint force source added.
Amid the shelling that accompanied the RSF's attempted advance, four members of the same family were killed and others were injured in strikes that hit the Wadi neighborhood, a medical source in Fasher told Mada Masr.
On the same day, RSF artillery also struck the Abu Shouk displacement camp, killing eight people and injuring several, according to the camp's emergency room. The shelling also destroyed a number of homes in the camp.
The UN has expressed alarm over the escalating fighting in Fasher following reports that a large RSF unit had entered the city last week — the first such incursion since the paramilitary group began its siege a year ago. Fasher is one of the military's last strongholds in the Darfur region.
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Arman's SPLM faction calls for reforms within Sumud alliance
Urging a fundamental shift toward the needs of war victims and Sudan's deepening humanitarian catastrophe, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Revolutionary Democratic Current, led by Yasir Arman, submitted an internal reform memo to the Sumud alliance on Tuesday.
The group announced that it had frozen its participation in Sumud's executive bodies.
Sumud member Mohamed Abdel Hakam told Mada Masr that the alliance remains united despite internal debates, saying the discussions and the SPLM-RDC's memo — currently under review — includes constructive proposals aimed at improving performance.
He dismissed reports that Arman's faction suspended its participation in the alliance, saying the group remains a core member.
Sumud was formed after the February dissolution of the Civil Front for Democracy, headed by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, just days before key members aligned with the RSF and signed the Nairobi declaration — a deal that later evolved into the RSF-led Tasees coalition.
Now, Sumud, which continues to be led by Hamdok, includes Arman's SPLM faction, a National Umma Party faction led by Fadlallah Burma Nasir, the Sudanese Congress Party, the Unionist Alliance, civil society organizations, youth groups and resistance committees.
SPLM-RDC emphasized that its latest memo was part of a longstanding tradition of pushing for reform within political alliances, especially in moments of social fragmentation, state collapse and the growing militarization of public life. It warned that the war has become a tool to erase the legacy of Sudan's revolution and the independence of its democratic civil movements.
Focusing exclusively on the political process while neglecting the victims and failing to hold regional and international actors accountable for their role in the humanitarian crisis would likely lead to weak, power-sharing settlements, the statement said.
The SPLM-RDC said it will continue engaging in dialogue within Sumud's leadership to push for necessary reforms, but made clear that it does not intend to take part in the current political process, including the proposed roundtable or Sumud's executive bodies.
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Rejecting UAE role in Sudan peace process, Democratic Bloc convenes for first time in a year
Meeting in Port Sudan this week for the first time in over a year, the pro-military Democratic Bloc voiced support for mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to end Sudan's war, while firmly rejecting any role for the UAE.
The meetings on Sunday and Monday coincided with a Saudi diplomatic delegation's visit to Port Sudan to explore the prospects of reviving peace talks, a source in the TSC and Sudan Liberation Movement (Minnawi) spokesperson Al-Sadig Al-Nour told Mada Masr. However, the TSC source downplayed the visit as routine and unlikely to have a significant impact at this stage.
At the bloc's meeting, the political committee — headed by Minnawi — discussed the latest military and political developments and welcomed growing US engagement with Sudan. It praised US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks that Sudan will be a diplomatic priority, and his appointment of Senior Advisor for African Affairs Massad Boulos to lead the effort.
While also expressing appreciation for Saudi Arabia's and Egypt's roles, the bloc said the UAE cannot be considered a neutral party due to its backing of the RSF, describing the Gulf country as a main actor in the war.
Senior US officials had gathered in Washington in June with the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE to discuss the Sudan conflict.
Formed in 2021, the Democratic Bloc includes armed movements aligned with the military and political factions opposed to the anti-war Sumud coalition. Though long seen as a key political player, it has not convened formally in over a year.
In its Sunday statement, the bloc called for a Sudanese-led solution to the war and warned against 'negative international interventions' that, it said, had helped fuel the conflict. It insisted the war must be accurately framed as 'a rebellion by the RSF militia against the Sudanese state' and praised neighboring countries — especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea — for backing Sudan's sovereignty and unity.