Khartoum, August 14 (Darfur24)
Fighting intensified on Thursday between the Sudanese army and allied joint forces on one side and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the other across several areas of Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile, as both sides issued competing claims of repelling attacks and inflicting losses on their opponents.
The RSF launched a large-scale ground attack on Jebra Sheikh in North Kordofan, a strategic town along the export route linking El Obeid and Omdurman. The army announced it had regained control of the town in late July.
The Sudanese army said it had repelled the attack, which it claimed involved more than 250 combat vehicles, and inflicted casualties and losses of equipment on the attacking forces, forcing them to withdraw toward Darfur.
Military sources from the army and joint forces told Darfur24 that the RSF also attacked Al-Ayara, west of El Obeid, and areas west of Bara.
Joint force fighters released videos purportedly showing captured armored vehicles and RSF fighters taken prisoner. The RSF, meanwhile, released footage showing its fighters entering Al-Ayara. Darfur24 could not independently verify either side’s claims of control over the town.
In North Darfur, the RSF said it had repelled an attack by the joint force on Umbro, about 200 kilometers northwest of El Fasher. It claimed to have seized more than 42 combat vehicles, along with weapons and ammunition, while inflicting casualties on the attacking force. The claims could not be independently verified.
In Blue Nile State, the Sudanese Founding Alliance Forces said Wednesday that they had made military gains in the Amora area near Damazin following clashes with the army and allied forces.
The announcement came hours after the RSF claimed to have captured Qaysan and Kurmuk after battles with the Sudanese army.
Meanwhile, drone attacks over the past two days have targeted several Sudanese cities, including Omdurman, Khartoum North, El Obeid, Atbara and Ad Damar, causing deaths and injuries.
The simultaneous attacks and fighting across multiple fronts point to a widening geographic scope and intensifying pace of the conflict between Sudan’s warring parties.