At least three people were killed and nine others wounded after the Rapid Support Forces launched a drone strike on a central Sudanese city, as fighting intensified across the strategically significant Kordofan region.
The attack, which struck a square near a police station in the Tayba neighbourhood of el-Obeid on Saturday afternoon, underscored the expanding use of air power by the paramilitary force as it shifted its focus eastward following gains in Darfur.
Military sources said several of those wounded in el-Obeid were in critical condition, while clashes continued across multiple fronts in Kordofan.
The Sudanese Armed Forces reportedly struck RSF positions in Um Adara in South Kordofan, while RSF shelling of Um Rawaba in North Kordofan caused further civilian casualties.
An RSF drone also targeted army positions in Kosti city in White Nile state, destroying a military vehicle and injuring its crew.
The three Kordofan states have seen fierce fighting in recent weeks, forcing tens of thousands to flee and worsening what aid agencies describe as one of the world’s gravest humanitarian emergencies.
The World Food Programme warned it may cut food rations by up to 70 percent starting in January due to severe funding shortages.
The agency said 20 million people in Sudan are suffering from malnutrition, with six million facing famine-like conditions, and warned that funding could collapse by April.
The International Organization for Migration said Sudan is now facing the world’s largest internal displacement crisis after more than two years of war between the army and the RSF.
The conflict, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 13 million people, according to international organizations.
Amid the violence, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on several RSF commanders linked to atrocities in Darfur, including Brig Gen Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu.
UK officials accused the sanctioned commanders of mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians, placing them under travel bans and freezing any assets.
The sanctions followed findings by BBC Verify linking RSF leaders to a massacre in el-Fasher after the army withdrew from the city, marking a significant escalation in international pressure as Sudan’s war grinds on.