Sudan Crisis Escalates: Over 36,000 Flee as Conflict Spreads from Darfur to Strategic Kordofan Region

The devastating conflict in Sudan has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced nearly 12 million people from their homes.

Recent reports indicate that over 36,000 Sudanese civilians have evacuated from towns and villages in the Kordofan region east of Darfur, according to United Nations data, while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) warned that their troops are gathering along a new front line.

In the past few weeks, the central Kordofan area has emerged as a fresh battleground in the two-year conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary RSF.

Central Kordofan holds strategic importance as it connects Sudan's Darfur provinces with the area surrounding the capital Khartoum.

This expansion of the war comes shortly after the RSF seized control of El-Fasher, which was the army's final stronghold in Darfur.

The RSF has established a competing administration there, challenging the pro-army government currently operating from the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

In a statement released late Sunday, the UN's migration agency reported an estimated 36,825 people have fled five localities in North Kordofan between October 26 and 31.

Residents reported on Monday a significant increase in both RSF and army forces across numerous towns and villages throughout North Kordofan.

The army and the RSF, engaged in conflict since April 2023, are competing for control of El-Obeid, the North Kordofan state capital. This key logistics and command center links Darfur to Khartoum and houses an airport.

The RSF claimed to have taken control of Bara, a city north of El-Obeid, last week.

"Today, all our forces have converged on the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a video shared on the group's official Telegram page late Sunday, advising civilians to avoid military locations.

Suleiman Babiker, a resident of Um Smeima west of El-Obeid, told AFP that following the paramilitary capture of El-Fasher, "the number of RSF vehicles increased."

"We stopped going to our farms, afraid of clashes," he explained.

Another resident, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, also mentioned "there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El-Obeid" over the past two weeks.

Awad Ali, who lives in al-Hamadi on the road connecting West and North Kordofan, reported seeing "RSF vehicles passing every day from the areas of West Kordofan toward El-Obeid since early October."

Kordofan, a resource-rich region administratively divided into North, South and West Kordofan, "is likely the next arena of military focus for the warring parties," warned Martha Pobee, assistant UN secretary-general for Africa, last week.

She highlighted "large-scale atrocities" committed by the RSF, noting that "these included reprisals against so-called 'collaborators', which are often ethnically motivated."

Pobee also expressed concern about patterns resembling those in Darfur, where RSF fighters have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence, and abductions targeting non-Arab communities following the fall of El-Fasher.

According to the UN, at least 50 civilians, including five Red Crescent volunteers, lost their lives in recent violence in North Kordofan.

Both the RSF, which evolved from Janjaweed militias accused of genocide two decades ago, and the army face allegations of war crimes.

The United States under Joe Biden concluded in January this year that "members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan."

Despite this, international action regarding Sudan has been largely subdued, and peace efforts have thus far been unsuccessful.

The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, displaced nearly 12 million people, and created the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.