The key facts

  • Sudan's army reported strikes on RSF command centers in Nyala on October 16, claiming dozens of fighters were killed
  • Darfur government: the RSF is 'not safe' anywhere, and the army will pursue it all the way to Um Dafuq on the border with the Central African Republic
  • The RSF accused the army of striking a livestock market in Nyala with civilian casualties; the claims remain independently unverified

Strikes on Nyala and statements by the parties

Recent airstrikes by the Sudanese army on Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, inflicted heavy losses on the personnel and equipment of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), said on Sunday Ahmed Ishaq Shanab, minister of information and official spokesman of the Darfur regional government, quoted by the Sudanese state agency SUNA. He described the strikes as 'painful' for the RSF. On Friday, the army said it had struck RSF command centers and positions in Nyala, which the group uses as an administrative and military hub. According to the army, the strikes killed dozens of RSF fighters and destroyed several command centers.

Statements by Darfur authorities

Shanab said the RSF is 'not safe' either in Nyala or anywhere else, and that the army will pursue the group all the way to Um Dafuq on Sudan's border with the Central African Republic. According to him, military operations against the RSF are ongoing and new areas are coming under army control, though he did not name them.

RSF accusations and unverified claims

The RSF, for its part, accused the army on Friday of a drone strike on a livestock market in Nyala, reporting civilian casualties. It remained unclear whether the strike mentioned by the RSF was the same operation announced by the army. The casualty figures and the nature of the targets could not be verified independently.

Context of the conflict

Nyala serves as an administrative and military center for the RSF and its allied forces within the 'Sudan Founding Alliance' (Tasis). The RSF controls most of the territory of the five states of the Darfur region, except for parts of North and West Darfur that remain under army control. The army, in turn, controls most areas of Sudan's remaining 13 states in the north, east, center and south, including the capital Khartoum. The army and the RSF have been fighting since April 2023; the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and worsened an already severe humanitarian crisis.