RSF Attack a City under Military Control in Central Sudan, Opening a New Front

Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
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RSF Attack a City under Military Control in Central Sudan, Opening a New Front

Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)

Fighting continued to rage between Sudan’s military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a city in a central province, officials said Sunday, opening yet another front in a fourteen-month war that has pushed the African country to the brink of famine.

The RSF began its offensive on the Sennar province earlier this week, attacking the village of Jebal Moya before moving to the city of Singa, the provincial capital, authorities said, where fresh battles have erupted.

On Saturday, the group claimed in a statement it had seized the military’s main facility, the 17th Infantry Division Headquarters in Singa. Local media also reported the RSF managed to breach the military’s defense.

However, Brig. Nabil Abdalla, a spokesperson for the Sudanese armed forces, said the military regained control of the facility, and that fighting was still underway Sunday morning.

Neither claim could be independently verified.

According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, at least 327 households had to flee from Jebal Moya and Singa to safer areas.

“The situation remains tense and unpredictable,” it said in a statement.

The latest fighting in Sennar comes while almost all eyes are on al-Fasher, a major city in the sprawling region of Darfur that the RSF has besieged for months in an attempt to seize it from the military. Al-Fasher is the military's last stronghold in Darfur.

Sudan’s war began in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The devastating conflict has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded 33,000 others, according to the United Nations, but rights activists say the toll could be much higher.

It created the world’s largest displacement crisis with over 11 million people forced to flee their homes. International experts warned Thursday that that 755,000 people are facing famine in the coming months, and that 8.5 million people are facing extreme food shortages.

The conflict has been marked by widespread reports of rampant sexual violence and other atrocities — especially in Darfur, the site of a genocide in the early 2000s. Rights groups say the atrocities amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.



‘No One Dares’ … First Palestinian Response to Israeli Plan to Separate Hebron from PA

Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
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‘No One Dares’ … First Palestinian Response to Israeli Plan to Separate Hebron from PA

Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

A report published by The Wall Street Journal, and promoted by Israeli media on Sunday, has renewed focus on an Israeli plan dating back more than 60 years aimed at pushing for the creation of “emirates” or entities independent from the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The report focused on the Palestinian city of Hebron, and cited what it claimed were “21 tribal elders from Hebron,” who allegedly sent a letter in Hebrew to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for negotiations with them to join the Abraham Accords and consequently abandon the “two-state solution,” which Palestinians rely on to establish their state.

However, a Palestinian security source, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, said: “What is happening is yet another Israeli attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority.”

“This is a failed plan,” he said: “No one here would dare take this step and say: I am the spy... I am the alternative to the Authority ... Those who tried that are known and represent no one.”

Reportedly, the elders included a detailed proposed timetable for talks to join the Abraham Accords and for “a fair and decent arrangement that would replace the Oslo Accords, which only brought damage, death, economic disaster and destruction.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, the initiative was helmed by Wadee al-Jaabari, who local city residents and its political leadership claim is unknown to them, and backed by "four other leading Hebron sheikhs.”

Palestinian city residents, including Jaabari's extended family members, condemned the proposal, saying that its authors do not represent them.

Israeli sources said that Economy Minister Nir Barkat stands behind the letter, which was allegedly sent to him. Barkat met at his home with al-Jaabari and the other sheikhs; he has held more than 12 meetings with them since February, The Wall Street Journal said. They asked him to forward the letter to Netanyahu and are now waiting for his response.

The sheikhs reportedly proposed that Israel grant work permits to 1,000 workers from Hebron on a trial basis, and then extend this to another 5,000.

According to Maariv newspaper, the Israeli government is “seeking to promote this plan to destroy the Palestinian Authority and the establishment of a Palestinian state.”