Khartoum, June 27 (Darfur24)
Fierce fighting erupted on Saturday between the Joint Force and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the North Darfur towns of Umbro and Abu Qumra, as the Joint Force appeared to launch a counteroffensive in the state’s northwestern border region, according to three independent sources.
Videos posted by Joint Force members and verified by Darfur24 showed their fighters entering Abu Qumra, in Karnoi locality, on Saturday. Other footage released by the group showed its members inside the town of Umbro, claiming control of the area.
The RSF captured Abu Qumra on December 24 after clashes with the Sudanese army and the Joint Force, which subsequently withdrew to Karnoi and Al-Tina near the Chad border.
Three identical local sources told Darfur24 that hundreds of residents began fleeing Abu Qumra on Thursday after the Joint Force launched attacks on RSF positions in Abu Liha and several nearby towns, raising fears of a broader military escalation.
Haroun Khater, a community leader in North Darfur, said displacement has intensified in recent days as fighting escalates between the RSF and the Joint Force in Umbro and Furawiya, north of Umbro.
He added that both sides are making extensive use of drones, hampering civilian movement toward safer areas.
Last week, RSF fighters released videos claiming they had captured Umbro—one of the Joint Force’s main strongholds in North Darfur—following heavy fighting that they said forced Joint Force fighters to withdraw.
Neither the RSF nor the Joint Force had issued an official statement on the latest developments in Umbro and Abu Qumra by the time of publication, and Darfur24 was unable to obtain comment from either side.
The border towns of Karnoi, Umbro and Al-Tina are among the last remaining strongholds of the Sudanese army and the Joint Force in Darfur after the RSF and its allies extended their control over most of the region’s major towns and cities.
The Joint Force comprises armed movements aligned with the Sudanese army in its war against the RSF. Before joining the conflict, the force had primarily been tasked with securing commercial and humanitarian convoys across Darfur.