🔗 Share this article

Over 36,000 individuals have fled Sudan's Kordofan area eastern part of Darfur beginning Saturday, as reported by the UN's migration agency.

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

Substantial Exodus Numbers

An estimated 36,825 people evacuated from five areas in North Kordofan region between 26 October and 31 October, per data from the International Organization for Migration.

The individuals, mainly traveling by foot, headed to Tawila, a town west of El Fasher that is currently sheltering over 652,000 evacuated individuals.

Heightened Troop Concentration

Citizens of North Kordofan on Monday noted a significant increase in both RSF and army deployment across towns and villages throughout the state.

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

"Today, all our forces have converged on the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently shared video statement.

Local Residents Detail Safety Fears

A area citizen of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the amount of RSF vehicles had increased significantly since the group's capture of El Fasher.

"We discontinued traveling to our farms, afraid of fighting," the individual commented.

Another inhabitant, who asked to remain unnamed for security reasons, also reported that "there has been a significant rise in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the past two weeks.

Global Concerns and Calls

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

The representative alerted to patterns similar to those in Darfur, where RSF militants have been alleged to commit mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against specific ethnic communities.

The spiritual head on Sunday urged an immediate ceasefire and the opening of aid passageways in Sudan, declaring that attacks on civilians and obstacles to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."

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

The diplomat further encouraged the world nations to categorize the group as a terrorist group.