Babanusa, December 2 (Darfur24)
Fighters of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Monday that they had allegedly taken control of the headquarters of the Sudanese army’s 22nd Division in the city of Babanusa in West Kordofan State, following what they described as fierce battles.
A military source affiliated with the Sudanese army confirmed to Darfur24 that the division’s command had indeed fallen completely into RSF hands. He said the clashes leading up to the takeover were intense, involving the use of both heavy and light weapons.
Videos circulated on RSF-aligned social media platforms showed RSF personnel inside the command headquarters, appearing to move freely through the division’s main buildings and offices in what looked like a broad deployment of their forces.
The takeover came after the RSF renewed attacks on the perimeter of the 22nd Division and continued shelling the army defensive positions around the main headquarters with heavy artillery.
On Sunday, the RSF launched a major assault on the garrison, but the army said at the time that it had repelled the attack.
There has been no official comment from the Sudanese army regarding the latest developments in Babanusa, and the number of casualties or the scale of damage inside the headquarters remains unknown.
With the fall of Babanusa, the RSF now controls nearly all of West Kordofan State, except for the oil-rich Heglig region, which remains under army control.