Sudan army, RSF clash in Kordofan with shelling, drone strikes

June 9, 2025 (El OBEID) – Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) traded drone and artillery fire across the country’s Kordofan region on Monday, escalating a weeks-long battle for the strategic territory.

The RSF launched drone strikes on El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, while the army shelled RSF formations from its base in Babanusa, West Kordofan, according to reports from the region. The extent of casualties was not immediately clear.

The fighting is the latest in an intense struggle for the Kordofan states, where the RSF has allied with a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) against the army.

While the army holds El Obeid, the RSF controls much of the surrounding territory and key transport links, including the Al-Dubaibat area, which it recaptured in May.

Separate back-and-forth fighting raged this week in the Um Duheilib area of South Kordofan, a strategic gateway to the Heglig oil fields. Both the army and the allied RSF/SPLM-N forces have claimed control of the area.

In Babanusa, military sources said the army used heavy artillery on Sunday evening to inflict losses on RSF units positioned on the city’s outskirts. However, the RSF on Monday released a video showing its commanders claiming to have “liberated” the army’s 22nd Infantry Division headquarters in the same city.

The RSF currently controls most localities in West Kordofan.