KHARTOUM, July 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 civilians were killed and seven others injured in an attack on the Berber area, south of El Obeid, the capital of Sudan's North Kordofan State, the state government said on Friday, blaming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Jamaa Al-Mahdi Jamaa, spokesperson for the North Kordofan State government, said in a statement that the attackers targeted civilians and looted "a number of livestock."
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and other regular forces later moved into the area, repelled the attackers and took control, with combing operations continuing to protect civilians, according to the statement.
A field military source told Xinhua that the Berber area came under two successive attacks, one on Thursday evening and another early Friday, launched by RSF forces in around 15 combat vehicles attempting to seize the area, located about 31 kilometers south of El Obeid.
He added that the clashes lasted for several hours before the SAF, backed by allied forces, repelled the attackers.
An eyewitness told Xinhua that gunfire and explosions could be heard for hours from the city's southern outskirts, prompting some families to temporarily relocate to safer neighborhoods and limiting market activity.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF.
The attack comes amid escalating military operations across the Kordofan region, where the RSF has intensified its activities in recent weeks. El Obeid, a strategic hub linking central Sudan with Darfur, has become a key battleground.
Sudan has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023, a conflict that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and continued to worsen humanitarian and security conditions across large parts of the country. ■