Sudan paramilitary attack on gold market kills five, activists say

September 21, 2026 (UM BADER, North Kordofan) – An attack by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a gold mining market in North Kordofan state killed five people and wounded dozens, local activists said on Monday, as both sides massed troops ahead of an anticipated battle.

The violence followed the launch of the Sudanese army’s largest offensive in months across western North Kordofan last week, in which the military said it had regained control of dozens of villages.

The Dar Hamar Emergency Room, an activist group tracking casualties, said a goldsmith was among the five dead, adding that 27 people were wounded in Sunday’s assault on the Um Bader market.

The group said arriving RSF fighters had concealed combat vehicles in woodland between the mining market and the nearby village of Um Bader.

The army offensive pushed some RSF fighters back toward the localities of Sodari, Al-Mazroub, Um Bader and Hamrat al-Sheikh, with combat vehicles concentrated in Um Bader and armed men on motorcycles deployed in Abu Za’ima.

The military also pressed ahead with intensive drone strikes targeting RSF reinforcements in Um Bader, Hamrat al-Sheikh, Al-Mazroub, and other areas along the border between Kordofan and Darfur.

The escalation has triggered fresh displacement. Thousands of civilians fled Hamrat al-Sheikh toward Al-Dabbah in Northern State, while others sought refuge in army-held areas including Bara and Jabrat al-Sheikh.