Sudan army repels major attack on Babanusa
Paramilitary group seeks to complete West Kordofan takeover
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Friday repelled a major offensive by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on its 22nd Infantry Division headquarters in Babanusa, the second-largest town in West Kordofan. The attack, launched early Friday morning, and continued for hours, marked one of the heaviest coordinated offensives by the RSF on the town in recent weeks.
While the paramilitary group was forced to withdraw after sustaining heavy losses, the attack underlines the RSF's tactical objective of the complete military takeover of West Kordofan state. It currently controls the state capital Al-Fula alongside major towns such as Al-Nahud, Mujlad, and Meiram.
The RSF assault targeted the town from three directions — the northwest, north, and east — in what appeared to be a coordinated attempt to encircle and overwhelm the already besieged SAF division.
Geolocated videos reviewed by Sudan War Monitor confirm RSF fighters advancing into urban zones on the northern and eastern perimeters of the town. One video shows RSF troops firing from Abu Baker Boys’ Secondary School on the western side of the road, directly across from the division headquarters, before being forced to withdraw under fire from entrenched SAF defenders.
In other footage circulated after the fighting, SAF fighters are seen assessing destroyed RSF vehicles in residential zones surrounding the base, with several bodies of RSF fighters visible. These visuals confirm both the scale of RSF’s losses and the intensity of the battle as the paramilitary force attempted to penetrate SAF’s outer defensive lines.
In a statement, the Sudanese army said its forces stationed in Babanusa had successfully repelled the assault, describing the attack as a large-scale offensive that had been in preparation for some time.
“Our forces at the 22nd Division in Babanusa have crushed a major attack that the Daglo militia had been preparing for some time, mobilizing its mercenaries and equipment. Babanusa will remain steadfast and unyielding, God willing, and will be their graveyard and the graveyard of all they bring. Victory from God and a forthcoming triumph,” the statement read.
Babanusa, located at a strategic highway and railway junction, has become the last major obstacle preventing the RSF from achieving total control over West Kordofan. The 22nd Infantry Division, which is headquartered in the town, has been under siege for more than two years and remains cut off from any meaningful reinforcement.
Its ranks are composed largely of prewar personnel and local resistance groups made up of armed youth. Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, no new forces have been sent to support the division, and the division depends on unreliable airdrops for essential supplies such as food and ammunition.
The RSF has captured nearly all major towns and military positions in West Kordofan over the past year. This includes El-Fula (91st Brigade), the state capital, Al-Nahud (18th Brigade), Muglad (89th Brigade), El-Meiram (92nd Brigade), and Belila (part of 90th Brigade in Heglig).
With the exception of Babanusa and the 90th Infantry Brigade headquarters in Heglig, all other SAF positions in the state have fallen to the paramilitary group. Both remaining garrisons are now under siege.
Sudan War Monitor sources confirm that the RSF’s latest attack on Babanusa is part of a larger strategy to eliminate the SAF presence in the state altogether. If Babanusa falls, RSF fighters are expected to turn their attention to Heglig, home to a major oil field and Sudan’s last remaining military garrison in West Kordofan.
The fall of Babanusa would open a direct corridor for the RSF to project force into Heglig and consolidate full territorial control over West Kordofan and its border with South Sudan’s Unity State.
It would also free up RSF units for redeployment toward other tactical objectives, including securing the eastern front, where SAF forces have attempted to infiltrate West Kordofan through Al-Kuwei in an effort to prevent the fall of Al-Nahud, which the RSF captured from SAF in early May.
The SAF's position in Babanusa is increasingly precarious. Aerial supply drops have proven inadequate and are often imprecise – some allegedly landing in RSF-controlled zones within the town.
The garrison has been left to fight with dwindling ammunition, limited fuel, and minimal food reserves. Morale remains fragile, but resistance continues, led in part by civilian-led popular defense units assisting the SAF forces inside the division headquarters.
The roots of SAF’s weakness in this region trace back to the final years of Omar al-Bashir’s regime, which was toppled in a popular uprising in April 2019. During his last years in power, Bashir relied heavily on the RSF to suppress dissent and project regime security, largely due to lack of trust in the national army.
In doing so, the national army was sidelined, underfunded, and stripped of political and operational power. No significant national recruitment campaign took place in the years before the war, and when conflict erupted with the RSF in 2023, SAF forces were under-resourced, fragmented, and ill-prepared.
The RSF, in contrast, drew on deep recruitment networks across Darfur and Kordofan, regions that provided both manpower and logistical familiarity. Within weeks of the war’s outbreak, the RSF had overrun nearly all of Khartoum and expanded across central and western Sudan.
The strategic significance of Babanusa extends far beyond local symbolism. Its fall would mark the complete military collapse of SAF in the state and clear the path for a larger RSF push both south and eastward – first to Heglig, and then potentially toward North Kordofan and White Nile States.
The loss of El-Fula and Al-Nahud has already cut off SAF’s ability to project power west of Heglig. If Babanusa is taken, RSF forces would effectively control all major land routes and urban centers in West Kordofan.
Videos
In this video, RSF troops can be seen near the Abu Baker Boys secondary school near the division headquarters. Location: 11°18'55.27"N 27°48'0.17"E.
In this video, RSF soldiers are seen assessing destroyed RSF vehicles before the gates of the army division. Location: 11°19'12.78"N 27°47'58.45"E.
In the video, SAF fighters are seen riding in a vehicle heading south along the road in front of the army division, possibly returning from a post-combat patrol.
In this video, SAF soldiers are seen shelling RSF positions from the 89th Brigade on the northern parameters of the division headquarters.
RSF fighters are seen retreating after attempt to breach the earthen berms forming the outer defensive perimeter of the division headquarters.