At least seven killed in RSF attack on Al Khiwai, West Kordofan

March 9, 2025 (AL KHIWAI) – At least seven people were killed and 13 others injured on Sunday in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the town of Al Khiwai in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, according to medical sources and witnesses.

The RSF has repeatedly attacked the town, which lies on the main highway linking the Kordofan and Darfur regions, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties.

Since the early months of the conflict, the Sudanese army has withdrawn from the town and moved towards El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

The Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement received by Sudan Tribune that “Rapid Support Forces carried out an attack on Al Khiwai in West Kordofan, killing seven people, including a child, and injuring 13 others.”

Eyewitnesses reported that the RSF attacked the town with approximately 35 combat vehicles and dozens of motorcycles. They said the force looted most of the shops in the main market and some homes, also stealing around nine vehicles. One resident’s house was burned after he attempted to resist a group raiding his home.

The Sudan Doctors Network condemned the killings and looting by the RSF in areas considered safe and devoid of any military presence. It described the actions as a clear assault on civilians and deliberate killing, particularly noting that one of the victims was a child under the age of 10.

The network said the continued killings and displacement carried out by the RSF in towns sheltering thousands of civilians represent violations of all international humanitarian laws and reflect the state of chaos caused by these forces.

The situation in the Kordofan region is escalating, after the Sudanese army managed in recent weeks to break the siege of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state. The army plans to turn El-Obeid into a military operations centre to advance towards the Darfur region, where the RSF controls the majority of the territory.