Tribal leaders warn of planned RSF attack on North Darfur areas

September 27, 2025 (EL GENEINA) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are planning to attack three localities in North Darfur that shelter tens of thousands of displaced people, tribal leaders and military sources said on Saturday.

The warnings came after RSF-affiliated media released videos of a commander, Idris Hassan, announcing plans to attack the border town of al-Tina. Military sources told Sudan Tribune they have detected large RSF troop buildups in the region, positioning for an offensive against the Zaghawa ethnic group’s territories in al-Tina, Umm Baru, and Karnoi.

Sudan’s army and allied local forces have mobilized to repel a potential assault, but their positions near the Chad border lack stable supply routes, according to local media reports.

A Zaghawa tribal leader accused the RSF of aiming to displace the local population and seize their land. “This expected offensive is an extension of previous attacks,” Mohamed Mansour of the Zaghawa Shura Council told Sudan Tribune.

Mansour charged the RSF with committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in other parts of the state earlier this year, forcing thousands to flee into Chad. The RSF also launched a drone strike on Al-Tina last August.

The three threatened localities are under the control of the army. The wider North Darfur state is split between the army, the RSF, and the Sudan Liberation Movement rebel group.