Symbolic imageRSF attack kills at least 14 civilians in North Kordofan
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces attacked the town of Umm Arda in North Kordofan on Friday, killing at least 14 civilians. The paramilitaries say they took the town; the army says it drove them back.
Emergency Lawyers, a pro-democracy lawyers' group, said the assault on the town about 200 kilometres south of Khartoum also wounded dozens and set off a wave of displacement. Earlier on Friday, 14 August, the RSF said it controlled Umm Arda, calling this a major turning point on the ground. An army source told AFP that troops had repelled two attacks, at Umm Arda and Jabal Al-Hashaba, inflicting losses on the paramilitaries. AFP said it could not verify the course or outcome of the fighting, citing poor access and cuts to communication networks.
40,000 children fled to El Obeid
Save the Children said on Friday that around 40,000 children had fled the fighting in North Kordofan to El Obeid, west of Umm Arda, and warned of a significant rise in child malnutrition. Emergency Lawyers said humanitarian aid is suspended in several areas already under siege and short of basic services.
El Obeid as the next target
The New York Times reports that capturing El Obeid would allow the RSF to consolidate its hold on western Sudan. The army controls the centre and east of the country, while the RSF holds Darfur and parts of the south, according to Le Monde.
Fourth year of war
Aid workers put the death toll since April 2023 at more than 200,000, with over 12 million people displaced in what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.