Sudanese army targets paramilitary RSF positions in Blue Nile State

​​​​KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL

The Sudanese army carried out airstrikes Thursday that targeted positions of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), in Blue Nile State, according to military sources.

The army conducted drone strikes on RSF and SPLM-N positions in the towns of Yabous and Balila, near the Ethiopian border, sources told Anadolu on the condition of anonymity.

The attacks destroyed military vehicles and supply trucks belonging to the two rebel groups, sources said. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties.

Yabous and Balila have been under SPLM-N control since 2011, following the group’s rebellion against the government. Neither the Sudanese army, the RSF, nor the SPLM-N has commented on the strikes.

In a related development, witnesses said army units conducted wide-scale sweeps west of Omdurman, which is under government control, extending toward the border with North Kordofan, to ensure the absence of RSF elements in the area.

Videos posted by army personnel on social media showed troops patrolling more than 45 kilometers (28 miles), from western al-Muwailih, the last populated area west of Omdurman, toward the boundary of North Kordofan.

Soldiers said they reached the state border and were prepared to restore control of North Kordofan in the near future.

The RSF remains present in the areas of Jabra al-Sheikh and Hamrat al-Sheikh in northern North Kordofan, while the army controls the eastern and central parts of the state, including the city of El Obeid, as well as several areas in the south and west.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission said White Nile State is hosting more than 1.128 million displaced people.

Lamia Ahmad Abdullah, the White Nile State commissioner for humanitarian aid, told the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), the state news agency, that more than 1.128 million displaced people are staying with host families inside homes across the state.

More than 8,000 additional displaced people are sheltering in camps in Qoz al-Salam, Tendalti and Khor Ajoul within the state, she added.

The commission and local authorities, working with international and national organizations, have carried out humanitarian interventions, including the provision of food, shelter and medical services, she said.

White Nile State, which remains under government control and has not seen fighting, has recently received tens of thousands of displaced people fleeing violence in Kordofan and Darfur.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF holds all five in the Darfur region, except for a few northern areas of North Darfur still under army control. The army continues to dominate most of the remaining 13 states across the south, north, east and central regions, including the nation's capital of Khartoum.

The bloody conflict between the army and the RSF has killed thousands of victims and displaced millions.