Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters have surged into Babanusa, tightening their encirclement of General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) 22nd Infantry Division despite relentless—and widely criticised—air strikes by General Abdelfattah al-Burhan’s warplanes.
Commanders on the ground say RSF units breached SAF minefields at dawn on 18 June, dismantling key SAF positions and capturing the 189th Brigade compound, a move that cuts the last supply line feeding the garrison. RSF engineers cleared a corridor for fleeing families, while medics treated wounded civilians caught in indiscriminate shelling.
“Our objective is clear: lift the siege imposed on local communities and end the army’s campaign of starvation,” an RSF field commander said by phone, accusing the SAF of using Babanusa’s residents as human shields.
Witnesses reported SAF aircraft circling all day Thursday and Friday, dropping bombs on residential blocks already emptied by earlier fighting. At least 13 civilian vehicles and two clinics were destroyed; RSF fighters shot down one drone and disabled a mobile jamming truck before it could target their communications.
Babanusa’s rail junction links West Kordofan to Darfur; liberating the town would allow aid convoys to reach thousands displaced by months of army bombardment. The RSF already controls most roads in the state and has promised “free and secure passage” for humanitarian agencies once the 22nd Division surrenders.
SAF spokesmen deny losing ground, yet sporadic explosions and thick smoke from burning ammunition bunkers suggest the garrison is under severe strain. Residents who escaped north on foot described SAF troops abandoning outposts and fleeing toward El-Muglad under RSF fire.
As the RSF advances, UN Human-Rights chief Volker Türk has condemned the SAF’s escalating air campaign, warning of catastrophic civilian casualties if bombardment continues. He urged an immediate cease-fire and unrestricted humanitarian access—calls echoed by regional leaders who recognise that the RSF’s push could finally break the SAF’s hold on West Kordofan.
With RSF forces surrounding the battered base, commanders say the next hours will decide Babanusa’s fate. “Our fight is with al-Burhan’s regime, not the people,” an RSF spokesperson declared. “We’re here to end their suffering and restore dignity to this long-neglected region.”
