Sudan army accuses RSF of using ceasefire as cover for attacks on Babanusa

PORT SUDAN – The Sudanese Armed Forces on Tuesday accused the Rapid Support Forces of using a declared unilateral ceasefire as a cover to continue daily attacks on the town of Babanusa, a key military hub in West Kordofan that fell to the paramilitary earlier this week.

In a statement issued by its official spokesperson, the army said RSF fighters had continued to shell Babanusa with artillery and attack it with strategic drones despite the ceasefire announced by RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

It said a fresh assault was launched on the city on Monday and claimed its forces had repelled the attack.

The army described the RSF ceasefire announcement as a “political and media maneuver” intended to conceal what it called the paramilitary’s ongoing battlefield movements and the continued flow of external military support.

It accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF, a charge the UAE has previously denied.

“Yesterday, it launched a new attack on the city, which our forces decisively repelled. We affirm that the so-called ceasefire announced by the lying rebel, Hemedti, is nothing but a political and media ploy intended to cover up their field movements and the continuous flow of Emirati support that fuels the war and kills Sudanese people,” the statement said.

The Sudanese army said it remained committed to international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians and the facilitation of humanitarian work, but warned it would not allow what it described as the exploitation of humanitarian conditions as a shield for military operations.

“The Armed Forces confirm their commitment to international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians, and the facilitation of humanitarian work. They will not allow the exploitation of the humanitarian situation as a cover for military movements that worsen the crisis,” the statement added.

The comments come a day after the RSF seized control of the military’s 22^nd Infantry Division headquarters in Babanusa, West Kordofan State, following a siege that had lasted more than two years, delivering one of the army’s most significant battlefield reversals in West Kordofan during the 20-month war.

The RSF announced its unilateral ceasefire shortly after Sudan’s military leadership rejected a US-backed truce proposal last week. Despite the announcement, fighting has continued across several fronts in western and central Sudan.