Latest news with #ElObeid
Asharq Al-Awsat
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan War Intensifies Across Kordofan's Three States
Fighting between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has flared in the central Kordofan region, home to some of the country's largest oil fields, including Heglig, Abu Jabra, and Balila. The city of El-Obeid, the region's largest urban center and capital of North Kordofan, was hit by drone strikes early Monday, triggering panic among residents. Multiple sites were targeted in the attack, which comes amid escalating clashes and troop build-ups across the region's three states. Local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that drones struck the eastern neighborhood of Al-Radeef, wounding several civilians. One source said a drone was spotted flying over the Sudanese army's 5th Infantry Division. The battlefront shifted westward to Kordofan following the army's full takeover of the capital Khartoum, where the conflict had raged since breaking out more than two years ago. Now, the three Kordofan states, North, South and West, are the focus of renewed violence as both parties vie for control. The RSF has stepped up its offensive in Sudan's North Kordofan, targeting the strategic city of El-Obeid with drone strikes as part of a broader push following the withdrawal of army troops and allied forces from nearby towns, including Al-Khuwei, Al-Debeibat and Al-Hammadi. The RSF's maneuvers have allowed it to surround El-Obeid from three directions, exposing significant vulnerabilities in the army's air defense systems. The latest attack underscores the RSF's increasing reliance on combat drones, which have been deployed in several battles across the Kordofan region in recent weeks. Military sources said the nearest RSF-controlled area is the town of Bara, less than 50 kilometers northeast of El-Obeid. The paramilitary group is also reported to have a strong presence in Al-Khuwei, Al-Hammadi, and Kazgeil, all located near the embattled city. In West Kordofan, fierce clashes continue in the town of Babanusa, where the Sudanese army's 22nd Infantry Division is headquartered. The division has lost control of three key garrisons in Al-Nuhud, Al-Fula, and the oil-rich area of Heglig amid the RSF's westward advances. The RSF said on Monday it now controls the entire town of Babanusa in West Kordofan and is encircling the 22nd Infantry Division from multiple directions, claiming the fall of the strategic town is 'only a matter of time.' Babanusa lies along the key Western Salvation Road, a vital artery linking the capital Khartoum to the Kordofan and Darfur regions. Control of the route has become a major objective for both sides: the army views it as a pathway for advancing into Darfur, while the RSF sees it as a forward defensive line and potential springboard for a renewed push on Khartoum. West Kordofan, which borders South Sudan and contains most of Sudan's oil fields, has emerged as one of the fiercest battlegrounds in the war. The state includes around 15 localities and has seen intensifying combat as both sides vie for control of critical infrastructure and territory. Meanwhile, the army is attempting to drive the RSF out of northern and southern pockets of the state to lift the siege on South Kordofan. In South Kordofan, clashes have intensified between the army, the RSF, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. The army briefly regained control of the towns of Al-Debeibat and Al-Hammadi in an effort to relieve pressure on Dilling and Kadugli, but the RSF later retook the areas, prolonging the deadlock in the region. Sudanese army forces are fending off ongoing attempts by the RSF to storm El-Fasher, the largest city in the Darfur region, a senior military official said. Major General Mohamed Ahmed Al-Khader, commander of the army's 6th Infantry Division, said the military has been repelling RSF assaults on the city for over a year. Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that army units have launched targeted operations around El-Fasher to push back RSF fighters from the city's outskirts.
Free Malaysia Today
31-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
RSF drone strike kills 6 in Sudan hospital as cholera rages
The United Nations says the conflict in Sudan has created the world's biggest hunger and displacement crises. (EPA Images pic) KHARTOUM : Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) bombarded the key southern city of El-Obeid yesterday, killing six people in a hospital, as doctors in the capital Khartoum fought to contain a cholera outbreak. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said they were 'appalled' by the latest strike, adding: 'Attacks on health must stop. We call for protection of all health infrastructure and health personnel. The best medicine is peace.' An army source told AFP the drone strike on the Social Insurance Hospital, which also wounded 12, was part of a simultaneous strike on residential areas of the city with heavy artillery. The bombardment had also hit a second hospital in the city centre, the source added. A medical source at El-Obeid Hospital, the city's main facility, confirmed the toll. El-Obeid, a strategic city 400km southwest of Khartoum, was besieged by the RSF for nearly two years before the regular army broke the siege in February. It was one of a series of counter-offensives that later saw the army recapture Khartoum. The city, which the RSF has repeatedly bombarded, is a key staging post on the army's supply route to the west, where the besieged city of El-Fasher is the only state capital in the vast Darfur region still under its control. The RSF and the army have clashed repeatedly along the road between El-Obeid and El-Fasher in recent weeks. On Thursday, the paramilitaries said they retook the town of Al-Khoei, around 100km west of El-Obeid, after the army recaptured it earlier this month. The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 13 million since it erupted in April 2023. The United Nations says the conflict has created the world's biggest hunger and displacement crises. In Khartoum, where a cholera outbreak has killed dozens this week, doctors struggled to treat patients with dwindling supplies as the disease rapidly spread. 'We are using all available means to limit its spread and treat infected patients,' Dr Hamad Adel, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), told AFP from Bashair Hospital. Patients lay on rusted metal beds, receiving IV drips in a makeshift isolation centre fashioned out of a tent in the sweltering 40°C heat, AFPTV footage showed. In a dedicated section, children lay side by side, emaciated and exhausted in the midst of what aid groups warn is a public health disaster. Cholera, an acute diarrhoeal illness caused by ingesting contaminated water or food, is easily preventable and treatable with clean water, sanitation and medical care – all now in short supply in Khartoum. In other overwhelmed hospitals across the war-ravaged capital, medics have been forced to lay patients on floors in hallways and courtyards. The outbreak has been blamed on power outages caused by RSF drone attacks on the capital's power stations, which cut access to clean water for millions across the city this month. Cholera is endemic to Sudan, but outbreaks have become worse and more frequent since the war has decimated the country's already fragile health system. Up to 90% of hospitals in the conflict's main battlegrounds have at some point been forced shut, according to the doctors' union. The war has effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the centre, east and north, while the paramilitaries and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south. The RSF has failed to seize El-Fasher, which would consolidate its hold on Darfur, but has continued to pound the city, with starving civilians trapped inside. The UN World Food Programme said Thursday its facility had been 'hit and damaged by RSF repeated shelling'. The US – which has sanctioned both Burhan and Daglo – has condemned the bombing. 'Safe, sustained humanitarian access is critical and violations that endanger civilians and relief efforts demand serious attention,' said senior Africa adviser Massad Boulos. Since losing Khartoum in March, the RSF has adopted a two-pronged strategy: long-range drone strikes on army-held cities accompanied by a counter-offensive in the south. On Thursday, the paramilitaries announced they had captured Dibeibat in South Kordofan state. Swathes of South Kordofan are controlled by a rebel group allied with the RSF.
Asharq Al-Awsat
30-05-2025
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
RSF Drone Strike Kills Several in Sudan Hospital
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces bombarded El-Obeid on Friday, killing six people in a hospital in the key southern city, medical and army sources said. "The militia launched a drone strike on the Social Insurance Hospital, killing six and wounding 12, simultaneously attacking residential areas of the city with heavy artillery," an army source told AFP, adding that the bombardment had also hit a second hospital in the city center. A medical source at El-Obeid Hospital, the city's main facility, confirmed the toll, adding that the Social Insurance Hospital had been forced shut "due to damage" sustained in the drone strike. El-Obeid, a strategic city 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of Khartoum which is the capital of North Kordofan state, was besieged by the RSF for nearly two years before the regular army broke the siege in February. It was one of a series of counteroffensives that also saw the army recapture Khartoum, but El-Obeid has continued to come under RSF bombardment. The city is a key staging post on the army's supply route to the west, where the besieged city of El-Fasher is the only state capital in the vast Darfur region still under its control. The RSF and the army have clashed repeatedly along the road between El-Obeid and El-Fasher in recent weeks. On Thursday, the RSF said they retaken the town of Al-Khoei, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of El-Obeid, after the army recaptured it earlier this month. The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 13 million since it erupted in April 2023. The United Nation says the conflict has created the world's biggest hunger and displacement crises. It has also effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the centre, east and north, while the RSF forces and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south. Since losing Khartoum in March, the RSF has adopted a two-prong strategy: long-range drone strikes on army-held cities accompanied by a counteroffensive in the south. On Thursday, the RSF also announced they had recaptured Dibeibat, in South Kordofan state some 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of El-Obeid, another town that the army had retaken earlier this month. Swathes of South Kordofan are controlled by a rebel group allied with the RSF, Abdelaziz al-Hilu's faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.
Arab News
30-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
RSF drone strike kills six in Sudan hospital: army source
KHARTOUM: Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces bombarded El-Obeid on Friday, killing six people in a hospital in the key southern city, medical and army sources said. 'The militia launched a drone strike on the Social Insurance Hospital, killing six and wounding 12, simultaneously attacking residential areas of the city with heavy artillery,' an army source told AFP, adding that the bombardment had also hit a second hospital in the city center. A medical source at El-Obeid Hospital, the city's main facility, confirmed the toll, adding that the Social Insurance Hospital had been forced shut 'due to damage' sustained in the drone strike. El-Obeid, a strategic city 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Khartoum which is the capital of North Kordofan state, was besieged by the RSF for nearly two years before the regular army broke the siege in February. It was one of a series of counteroffensives that also saw the army recapture Khartoum, but El-Obeid has continued to come under RSF bombardment. The city is a key staging post on the army's supply route to the west, where the besieged city of El-Fasher is the only state capital in the vast Darfur region still under its control. The RSF and the army have clashed repeatedly along the road between El-Obeid and El-Fasher in recent weeks. On Thursday, the paramilitaries said they retaken the town of Al-Khoei, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of El-Obeid, after the army recaptured it earlier this month. The war between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 13 million since it erupted in April 2023. The United Nation says the conflict has created the world's biggest hunger and displacement crises. It has also effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the center, east and north, while the paramilitaries and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south. Since losing Khartoum in March, the RSF has adopted a two-prong strategy: long-range drone strikes on army-held cities accompanied by a counteroffensive in the south. On Thursday, the paramilitaries also announced they had recaptured Dibeibat, in South Kordofan state some 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of El-Obeid, another town that the army had retaken earlier this month. Swathes of South Kordofan are controlled by a rebel group allied with the RSF, Abdelaziz Al-Hilu's faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.
Al Arabiya
30-05-2025
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Sudan paramilitaries shell el-Obeid, hospitals hit: Witnesses
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces shelled El-Obeid on Friday, hitting two hospitals and residential neighborhoods of the key southern city, witnesses and an army source said. 'The militia attacked residential areas of the city with heavy artillery,' an army source told AFP, adding that they had hit the Social Insurance Hospital and the city's army hospital. Witnesses close to the Social Insurance Hospital confirmed it had come under bombardment.
