Sudanese Army Strikes RSF Troops in Khartoum and North Kordofan

Sudanese army chopper attacks RSF positions in Khartoum on April 22, 2023

July 20, 2023 (EL-OBEID, KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese army launched air strikes on Thursday against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and North Kordofan states as ground troops continue to engage with paramilitary fighters.

Since the eruption of the conflict, the Sudanese air forces have targeted the RSF positions in Khartoum and have reduced the arrival of their reinforcements from reaching the capital. However, recently, they operate also in strategic North Kordofan.

On Thursday, aerial bombardments were concentrated near Sports City in the south of Khartoum and in Ombada, west of Omdurman, as well as in North Khartoum and East Nile cities of Khartoum state.

Eyewitnesses reported that the airstrikes persisted into Thursday evening, with additional bombings in Omdurman’s Libya’s Market and the Al-Jeraif East and Southern Belt areas.

The escalating military attacks unfolded in parallel with renewed mediation efforts by U.S. and Saudi officials in Jeddah, seeking a ceasefire agreement to pave the way for political negotiations between the conflicting parties.

The army also accused the RSF of shelling residential areas south of Khartoum with mortar shells and spreading false videos to deceive the public.

The Sudanese army accused the RSF of seeking to use the bombs that inadvertently hit some houses during the attacks on the position of the paramilitary position in residential neighbourhoods.

Combing and special operations in central Khartoum were declared ongoing, with the regular forces successfully clearing RSF positions in southern Omdurman and eliminating their vehicles. Clashes in the Abu Saad area in Omdurman and Jabra in Khartoum killed 18 militiamen.

Combing operations in central Khartoum continue as planned, said the military spokesman adding that the regular forces reclaimed positions in southern Omdurman and eliminated RSF vehicles. Clashes in Omdurman and Khartoum resulted in the death of 18 militiamen, he added.

El-Obeid-based journalist Qureshi Awad reported heavy bombardment by the Sudanese army’s warplanes on RSF forces in the southern and western outskirts of the North Kordofan capital.

In response to the airstrikes, the RSF deployed anti-aircraft guns.

Awad added that the RSF bombings caused extensive damage to homes in the southern and western neighbourhoods of the city.

(ST)