Daijiworld Media Network - Khartoum

Khartoum, Jul 14: At least 18 civilians, including children, have been killed and 31 others wounded following brutal attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Kordofan State, according to volunteer groups on the ground.

The Sudanese Doctors Network, a medical volunteer organization, condemned the RSF’s assault on the Shaq Al-Noum area, calling it a “horrific atrocity.” The attack claimed 11 lives—including three children—and left 31 people injured, among them nine women. In a public statement, the network described the incident as “a blatant violation of humanitarian norms and international law.”

Adding to the toll, the Resistance Committees of North Kordofan reported that RSF fighters targeted the villages of Abu Qaida and Hillat Hamad near the city of Bara on Saturday, killing at least seven more civilians and injuring several others.

Since June, North Kordofan has become a flashpoint in the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, with fighting intensifying around Bara, a strategically vital town northeast of El Obeid, the state capital. The RSF has been attempting to seize control of the area, escalating clashes and threatening civilian populations.

On Sunday, RSF members posted videos on social media claiming they had captured Umm Sumayma, located approximately 68 kilometers west of El Obeid. The SAF has not yet responded to the claim.

Sudan has been locked in a devastating civil conflict since April 2023, pitting the RSF against the national military. The violence has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, with millions displaced both within Sudan and into neighboring countries, worsening what the UN calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.