RSF Violence Claims Over 500 Lives in Sudan's Kordofan

Recent attacks by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the strategic city of al-Nahud in West Kordofan have resulted in a death toll ranging from at least 19 to over 300, according to various sources, with government officials accusing the RSF of committing crimes against humanity and targeting victims on an ethnic basis. The RSF reportedly captured al-Nahud from the Sudanese Armed Forces, leading to widespread looting, chaos, and the disappearance of emergency response workers. The city is of significant strategic importance, serving as a gateway between Darfur and Kordofan, and its fall has intensified fears for civilian safety amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands of displaced people now sheltering there. Control over al-Nahud is seen as key for the RSF's efforts to seize the Darfur capital, el-Fasher, as the conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces escalates. Human rights monitors and local sources report arbitrary executions and mass detentions by the RSF, while the Sudanese Foreign Ministry has called for stronger international intervention. The RSF has not responded to allegations, and the situation on the ground remains volatile, adding to the devastation of Sudan's ongoing civil war.