14 Killed in Attack on Sudan's Umm Arda as RSF Claims Control

An attack on the town of Umm Arda in Sudan has killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more. A local NGO has linked the bloodshed to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

According to AFP, Saturday (15/8/2026), the RSF claimed to have taken control of the town in the Kordofan region, which has become a flashpoint in the conflict. The RSF described it as a “significant shift in field operations”.

“The Rapid Support Forces attacked the Umm Arda area on Friday, southwest of El Obeid,” said the Emergency Lawyers NGO.

“(Resulting in) the deaths of more than 14 civilians and dozens of injuries, while the area is experiencing a wave of civilian displacement,” it added.

A source in the Sudanese military told AFP that the army had repelled two attacks launched in the Umm Arda and Jabal al-Hashaba areas, and had “inflicted losses” on the RSF.

AFP was unable to independently verify the details and outcome of the fighting due to the difficulty of accessing the area and disruptions to communication networks.

Emergency Lawyers, a human rights group that has documented atrocities by both warring parties, warned of a “worsening humanitarian catastrophe in areas already suffering from siege and a lack of basic services”. They added that humanitarian aid had also been halted in some areas.

The NGO Save the Children said on Friday that around 40,000 children had fled to El Obeid to escape the fighting in North Kordofan, and reported a “significant increase in child malnutrition cases” and “severe food shortages” in two camps where the group provides support to displaced people.

The crisis is compounded by water shortages, with “some families spending nearly half their day searching for water”.

The war, now entering its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more.

The military controls central and eastern Sudan, while the western Darfur region and parts of the south are under RSF control.