Over 7,000 families flee West Kordofan clashes, U.N. agency says 

May 12, 2025 (AL KHUWAY) – The U.N.’s migration agency said on Monday that more than 7,000 families have fled fighting in Al Nuhud and Al Khuway in Sudan’s West Kordofan state amid clashes between the army and paramilitary forces.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the strategic crossroads town of Al Nuhud on May 2, one day after launching attacks, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) withdrew first to Al Khuway and subsequently to Al Ubayyid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

On Sunday, the SAF recaptured the town of Al Khuway, one week after the RSF had seized it, according to reports from the area. The army then advanced towards villages outside Al Nuhud.

In an update, the IOM said 7,204 families were displaced from Al Nuhud and Al Khuway on May 1-2 “as a result of increasing insecurity”.

Clashes in Al Nuhud forced 5,451 families to flee, the IOM said. Most were displaced within the Al Nuhud locality, while others escaped to Ghubaysh, Wad Banda, and As Salam areas in West Kordofan, and West Bara in North Kordofan.

Fighting in Al Khuway displaced 1,678 families to towns within the locality and to West Bara, the agency added.

An attack on Al Sardabah village in the Al Khuway locality on May 2 displaced 75 families, the IOM said.

An army coalition known as the ‘Al-Sayyad  (The Hunter) mobile force’, which includes allied groups, aims to recapture RSF-controlled areas in West Kordofan, according to local sources. This could precede an advance towards East Darfur state or towards El Fasher in North Darfur, where the army garrison is under siege by the RSF.

The RSF has mobilized forces in West Kordofan towns to block the army coalition’s advance, sparking fears of further battles. Renewed fighting could displace thousands more families and worsen an already dire humanitarian situation, aid groups warn.