🔗 Share this article

More than 36,000 people have escaped Sudan's Kordofan region eastern sector of Darfur since Saturday, as stated by the UN's immigration body.

The key central region connecting the country's Darfur areas and the Khartoum-Riverine area has in recent weeks become the newest conflict zone in the two-year civil war between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary group.

Substantial Evacuation Figures

An calculated 36,825 people escaped five areas in North Kordofan province between 26 October and 31 October, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The civilians, mainly traveling by foot, headed to Tawila, a town west of El Fasher that is currently housing over 652,000 refugees.

Increased Troop Concentration

Citizens of North Kordofan on Monday reported a substantial rise in both RSF and army deployment across communities throughout the state.

Both armed factions are competing for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan regional capital and a key logistics and command base that links Darfur to Khartoum.

"Today, all our forces have gathered at the Bara front here," said an RSF member in a recently distributed video statement.

Area Inhabitants Detail Safety Fears

A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the number of RSF vehicles had grown considerably since the group's seizure of El Fasher.

"We discontinued traveling to our farms, concerned about confrontations," the resident stated.

Another civilian, who requested anonymity for protection purposes, also reported that "there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the previous fortnight.

International Alarms and Appeals

A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "widespread abuses" and "ethnic-based retaliations" by RSF in Bara.

The official cautioned about patterns comparable to patterns in Darfur, where RSF combatants have been alleged to commit mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against specific ethnic communities.

The spiritual head on Sunday urged an prompt truce and the establishment of aid passageways in Sudan, saying that attacks on civilians and hindrances to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."

Sudan's ambassador to Egypt on Sunday accused RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and stated that the Sudanese government would not engage with the militia organization.

The ambassador further called on the international community to categorize the group as a terrorist entity.