Al Daein, November 18 (Darfur24)
Renewed fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city of Babanusa, West Kordofan State, has brought the harvest season to a standstill, as intensified military operations continue.
Clashes escalated after the RSF launched a new offensive to seize the headquarters of the 22nd Infantry Division, the army’s main stronghold in West Kordofan.
The continued hostilities have forced workers to flee and triggered widespread looting, crop theft, and the destruction of farms.
Ahmed Hussein Ali, a farmer in southwest Babanusa, told Darfur24 that many farmers had managed to cultivate their lands during the rainy season after a period of relative calm, hoping to secure food for their families.
“But the RSF returned and began mobilizing fighters again around the area, and everything collapsed,” he said.
Following its full takeover of all five Darfur states, the RSF is now pushing to expand its military presence in the Kordofan region, where it currently controls more than 60 percent of the territory.
Residents reported continuous RSF shelling of the army’s Babanusa headquarters, which has become almost completely isolated. Military sources told Darfur24 that the RSF made advances on Sunday along the northern front after crossing the railway line north of the base, while the army repelled RSF attacks along the western front.
Babanusa’s strategic significance stems from its railway junction, home to the Western Region command, linking Kosti in White Nile State, Nyala—the seat of the RSF-led “Founding” coalition government—and Wau in South Sudan.
Hostilities first erupted in Babanusa in January 2024 when the RSF attempted to wrest control of the town, but the army repelled those attacks and maintained its hold over a city now largely devoid of civilians.
The army currently controls only two areas in West Kordofan State: its base in Babnusa and the Brigade 90 headquarters in the Heglig area, home to key oil production fields.