On Sunday, February 26, 2025, paramilitary shelling in El-Obeid, the state capital of North Kordofan, resulted in the death of nine civilians and injuries to 21 others, according to a medical source. The shelling was attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group engaged in conflict with the Sudanese army since April 2023.
The source from the main hospital in El-Obeid, who requested to remain anonymous for safety reasons, informed AFP that the shelling wounded 23 civilians, with two later succumbing to their injuries, thus bringing the total fatalities to nine. Several witnesses corroborated the account, describing intense bombardment by the RSF, which included an incident where a shell struck a public transport bus carrying passengers.
El-Obeid is located at a crucial crossroads connecting the capital, Khartoum, to the western region of Darfur. The city’s army previously broke a nearly two-year siege imposed by the RSF last month.
The RSF has gained control of nearly all of Darfur, while the army has maintained dominance over the north and east. The conflict has evolved into a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The war has led to tens of thousands of deaths, displaced over 12 million individuals, and resulted in the world’s largest humanitarian crises with respect to hunger and displacement.
