Sudan Nashra: RSF source: Abdel Rahim Dagalo shifts command to Nyala | Around 450 civilians killed or injured in North Darfur | Military nears control over main road linking Khartoum to North Kordofan

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo has taken steps to designate Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, as the paramilitary group’s administrative capital and command center. The move comes amid mounting social unrest in the region driven by Dagalo’s policies, which are aimed at tightening his grip on local communities across Darfur.

Since returning to the region in March, Dagalo has pressed ahead with these plans as RSF-held states in Darfur continue to face worsening security and humanitarian conditions and rising social tensions — challenges that increasingly threaten his ambitions.

In North Darfur, a government official told Mada Masr that nearly 400 civilians were killed or injured over four days of RSF artillery shelling on residential neighborhoods in Fasher as well as the Abu Shouk displacement camp. The military later announced more civilian casualties following further RSF attacks.

On the ground, the military said it seized and destroyed RSF combat equipment, killed several of its fighters, and pushed its troops out of parts of Fasher over the week. Its Sixth Infantry Division also repelled a major RSF attack on the city’s southeastern part on Thursday night. 

Meanwhile, in the last RSF-held pockets in Omdurman and the capital at large, clashes broke out near the main road linking the city to Bara in North Kordofan — the RSF’s only access route in and out of Omdurman.

The military is also attempting to secure control of the road from within North Kordofan, targeting RSF positions in Bara with airstrikes and ground assaults. It has since retaken some areas and is pushing to lift the siege on the strategic city of Nuhud, a key junction connecting to eastern Darfur.

***

Clashes continue in southern and western Omdurman near road linking Khartoum to North Kordofan

On Sunday, the RSF launched a surprise attack on the Nusour and Konan camps, as well as military defensive positions in the Safwa residential complex in far southwestern Omdurman, two field sources told Mada Masr. 

Since it declared Khartoum liberated in March, the military has been closing in on the last RSF pockets in southern and western Omdurman.  

According to the sources, the military repelled the assault before it gained ground in the areas close to the Bara-Omdurman Saderat road, which connects Khartoum State to North Kordofan.

One of the sources said that the RSF had launched the offensive in the early hours of Sunday, advancing from the Fatasha camp in the Muweilah area of southwestern Omdurman. Both the camp and the surrounding area serve as major RSF supply hubs for operations against the military’s positions in the far south and west of the city. According to the source, the military destroyed around 12 RSF combat vehicles and killed and injured several RSF fighters.

Earlier this month, the military managed to retake the Nusour camp in western Ombada and the Konan camp near Safwa in the southwest after heavy fighting. These camps, which had been under RSF control since the war broke out in mid-April 2023, were major logistical bases for supply and staging attacks on military-held areas in Omdurman.

The RSF continues to hold the Fatasha and Sheikh Youssef camps in southern Salha, another field source told Mada Masr. Their forces also expanded in the Gamaa neighborhood, parts of the Murabaat neighborhoods, and parts of the Gamuia and Muweilah areas — considered the southwestern gateway to the capital — where the forces have regrouped following their expulsion from central Khartoum last month, according to the source. 

On Monday, the military deployed additional elite units from the General Intelligence Service as part of the plan to encircle the remaining RSF strongholds in Omdurman.

***

Military advances in Kordofan as RSF builds up near Nuhud, West Kordofan 

Fighting in western and southern Omdurman remains closely linked to military operations in North Kordofan, where the military is working to secure a direct route from Khartoum to key towns and cities used as RF logistical hubs. 

The military’s full control of Khartoum State would reopen the Saderat road, connecting the capital to areas such as Bara, Um Sayala and Gabra al-Sheikh — critical for RSF supply lines into Omdurman.

On Tuesday, the military carried out heavy airstrikes on RSF positions in Bara, destroying a convoy of combat vehicles and supply trucks, a source in the city told Mada Masr. The strikes also targeted RSF gatherings at the Ruby and Gadida schools within the city.

A senior military officer told Mada Masr that the wave of airstrikes in recent days is the first step in a broader military operation led by the military-allied Sayyad force and the Fifth Infantry Division (camel cavalry), with the aim of capturing Bara — a city he described as strategically significant in the battle for control over Kordofan.

Capturing Bara, the officer added, would enable the military to reclaim the Saderat road from within Kordofan, linking the city to Omdurman and opening a key logistical corridor that would force the RSF to retreat from its remaining positions in North Kordofan.

The Sayyad unit, launched from Tandalti in White Nile State, previously secured the towns of Um Rawaba and Rahad and helped lift the RSF siege on Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, earlier this year. Since then, Sayyad forces have branched into three main combat axes: south and southwest of Obeid, and north toward Bara.

Last week, the unit captured the areas of Um Arda and Ban Gadeed and is now awaiting reinforcements to clear remaining RSF pockets in Qudeiba, Alub and Kazgeel, a field source told Mada Masr.

The same source said that the Sayyad forces will soon attempt to advance toward the strategic city of Nuhud in West Kordofan, with the goal of breaking the RSF siege. 

Meanwhile, the RSF is amassing its forces on Nuhud’s outskirts, the source said, concentrating troops and equipment in Wad Banda, Sunut, Um Adara and Fuga.

Nuhud is considered one of West Kordofan’s most strategic cities. Securing control over it would give the military a stronger grip on key roads leading to other parts of the Kordofan region and into Darfur, while also establishing a major supply route for military operations across all three Kordofan states.

A local source in Nuhud told Mada Masr that the city — now serving as the administrative center of West Kordofan — is heavily fortified, with reserve forces and mobilized locals fully prepared to confront the RSF.

Should the military succeed in lifting the siege on Nuhud, it could push the RSF into a critical decision: redirecting its forces to engage the military on Darfur’s eastern front rather than continuing to focus on its north. 

The northern front is currently being targeted by the military-allied joint force, which has been amassing reinforcements in Northern State in preparation for the battle to break the RSF siege on North Darfur’s Fasher, though, according to a military source in the general staff, they are waiting for the right moment to act.

Speaking to Mada Masr, former military officer and strategic analyst Abdel Azim Nour Eddin said the current operational dynamics indicate that the military is gaining momentum across multiple fronts, with plans to retake cities like South Darfur’s Nyala, East Darfur’s Daein and all other military positions still under RSF control.

Nour Eddin dismissed RSF threats to storm Nuhud as nothing new, saying that the group has made similar claims in the past, previously threatening cities like Atbara, Shendi and Khartoum before being driven out of all of them.

He emphasized that Nuhud is a strategically pivotal city — an important trade center and juncture connecting several main roads — which he said explains why the RSF is intent on capturing it. 

The military is now entering the phase of an all-out offensive, Nour Eddin said, adding that the RSF, having lost its capacity to mobilize effectively, is unlikely to achieve any gains in Nuhud.

***

Military launches raids, desertions within RSF ranks in Fasher

Amid relentless RSF shelling on Fasher this week, the military launched targeted raids against the group’s positions and disrupted their movements in the city’s outskirts, according to the military’s Sixth Infantry Division. This comes amid growing disarray and mass desertions within RSF ranks, which the military attributes to pressure from its forces and allied troops. 

But Fasher’s southeastern part came under attack late Thursday night, the division stated, adding that its troops managed to repel the assault and drive RSF fighters back, inflicting heavy losses on the paramilitary group. 

On Monday, the military stated that it had killed 20 RSF fighters and wounded 14 during a raid targeting RSF hideouts on the outskirts of the city. It also seized weapons and ammunition during the operation.

On the same day, several RSF units withdrew from their positions around the Zamzam displacement camp area to the south of Fasher, a field source told Mada Masr. Roads leading into the area were closed due to fears of a surprise attack and targeted operations by the military and the joint force, according to the source. 

The Sixth Infantry Division pointed to mass desertions in the RSF’s ranks on Tuesday, driven by what it described as mounting pressure from the military, the joint force, other regular troops and mobilized fighters.

That same day, the division intercepted an RSF unit attempting to flee through the village of Tabaldia in northern Fasher. Heavy clashes ensued, and dozens of RSF fighters were killed and three Land Cruiser vehicles burned. 

***

RSF source: Dagalo moves command to Nyala, plans administrative capital

RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo moved the group’s command to Nyala and is working to designate the city as the administrative capital for the paramilitary, an RSF military source told Mada Masr.

The move follows a series of political maneuvers by the RSF and its allies to build parallel state institutions in territories under its control. In February, the Tasees coalition — formed during the RSF’s Nairobi conference — signed the founding charter and a draft transitional constitution for the new administration. The following month, Dagalo arrived in Darfur — where the RSF holds sway over every state but North Darfur. Since then, the paramilitary group has held three foundational gatherings while RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo announced the formation of a government and presidential council. 

A source from the Transitional Sovereignty Council told Mada Masr that Dagalo is attempting to build his state in Darfur “on the skulls of the region's social components,” accusing him of seeking to dominate Darfur’s communities rather than establish an administration that serves the interests of civilians. These concerns were echoed by a local source from the Salamat tribe in Central Darfur, who warned that Dagalo is imposing a social hierarchy that risks inflaming intercommunal conflict by privileging certain tribal groups over others — policies the source said the Salamat tribe rejects. 

The RSF source also said that the choice of Nyala as the administrative capital could further aggravate ethnic and social tensions in the region.

The worsening humanitarian crisis in long-held RSF areas of Darfur offers a glimpse into the hurdles facing the consolidation of the group’s rule in the region.

In East and Central Darfur — where the RSF has held power since the early months of the war — residents are grappling with economic and security collapse and the breakdown of public services. RSF units affiliated with specific tribes have set up checkpoints along trade routes, imposing fees on commercial trucks and contributing to the surging prices of essential goods.

In Daein, the capital of East Darfur, a local source told Mada Masr that the city, and the state at large, are facing mounting challenges under RSF rule. People are struggling to access food, water and healthcare, a humanitarian worker told Mada Masr, while ongoing violence and security chaos have only deepened the crisis. A trader in the city’s main market described a decline in economic activity, with dwindling supplies of goods, and rising job scarcity and inflation amid security threats.

Another source from Daein described life under RSF control as one of constant fear and anxiety due to widespread lawlessness. With electricity, water infrastructures and health services heavily deteriorating amid the conflict, the city has witnessed a surge in displacement, according to the source. 

Humanitarian organizations and local civil groups are working hard to deliver food, water and medical assistance to citizens in need, in a bid to ease the worsening conditions, the source said.

But immediate international intervention is needed, a displaced person from Daein told Mada Masr, urging the United Nations and relief agencies to improve living and economic conditions. They called for urgent measures to restore security and stability, repair critical infrastructure and deliver aid to civilians suffering the consequences of war.

Meanwhile, in Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur — which fell under RSF control in October 2023 — violence continues to break out between pastoralist and farming communities in surrounding areas, a local source told Mada Masr. These recurring clashes have triggered intermittent waves of displacement, pushing residents toward the city center and more remote areas.

A government official in the office of Central Darfur Governor Mostafa Tambour told Mada Masr that the situation in Zalingei is deteriorating due to ongoing disputes over land and resources. The broader war, he added, also continues to destabilize much of the Darfur region.

Citing local sources, the official said that armed groups remain active in the rural areas surrounding Zalingei, disrupting civilian movement and trade between the countryside and the city.

Conditions in the city’s displacement camps are also deteriorating, the official said, with widespread child malnutrition and disease outbreaks caused by a lack of clean water and insufficient sanitation facilities. 

Local sources told Mada Masr that many families are entirely dependent on humanitarian aid, but relief convoys arrive sporadically due to the persistent threat of looting and armed attacks.

***

450 killed or injured in RSF shelling on North Darfur

From April 17 until Sunday, around 400 civilians were killed or injured in North Darfur due to the RSF’s shelling of the Abu Shouk displacement camp and several areas across the state, including Fasher, North Darfur’s Health Ministry General Director Ibrahim Khater told Mada Masr.

The shelling resumed Monday night, with over 200 shells fired on Fasher, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties, a field source told Mada Masr. The assault also coincided with the reappearance of high-precision drones flying overhead. According to the Sixth Infantry Division, 47 civilians were killed in Monday’s attacks.

Khater warned that the actual death toll is likely higher, particularly as many bodies are being buried without prior hospitalization.

The most pressing threat to civilians remains the ongoing artillery fire targeting gathering places such as mosques, markets and hospitals, Khater said.

North Darfur Governor has formed a high-level committee to address the situation of newly displaced people, with support from the federal and regional governments to provide shelter, protection, food, water and medicine, Khater added. 

No aid or supplies have been provided by UN organizations so far, according to Khater. However, the UN  International Children's Emergency Fund is making efforts to assist nutrition for children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, by offering treatment and mobile clinics. "They’ve promised assistance, but we still don’t know how it will materialize," he said.

He stressed that all residents of Fasher are in urgent need of food and water.

The UN has approved a proposal by the Sudanese government, put forward by the military’s assistant commander, Ibrahim Gaber, that calls for facilitating the entry of  humanitarian aid into the city.

The Transitional Sovereignty Council stated on Monday that the government has agreed to the UN’s request to set up logistical supply hubs around Fasher to facilitate humanitarian operations, specifically in the areas of Malit and Tawila.

The council added that Transitional Sovereignty Council Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had received a phone call from UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, with whom he discussed the humanitarian situation and the delivery of aid to Fasher.

For his part, Fletcher said that he spoke to Burhan and Hemedti on Monday, adding that they agreed to give the UN full access to deliver aid. “We are mobilized to reach and support civilians," he said.