Paramilitary forces battling Sudan’s military say they have seized two strategic towns, even as a deadly cholera outbreak grips the capital, killing 70 people this week.
For more than two years, Africa’s third-largest nation has been torn apart by a brutal power struggle between the army – led by de facto ruler Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan – and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The cholera surge follows weeks of drone attacks, blamed on the RSF, that crippled water and power infrastructure in Khartoum, deepening an already dire health crisis.
On Thursday, the RSF said it had taken control of Dibeibat in South Kordofan and Al-Khoei in West Kordofan – both key towns near the border with South Sudan.
“The liberation of Dibeibat, followed by Al-Khoei, not only means a field victory; it also consolidates the complete control of the RSF over most of the Kordofan region,” an RSF spokesman said in a statement.
Al-Khoei, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from El-Obeid – a key crossroads between Khartoum and the Darfur region – had briefly been recaptured by the army earlier this month.
Residents confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Dibeibat, which links the states of North and South Kordofan, is now under RSF control.
The conflict has effectively split Sudan in two: the army controls the center, east and north, while the paramilitaries hold almost all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and created what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Last week, the military-backed government said it had dislodged RSF fighters from their last bases in Khartoum state, two months after retaking the heart of the capital from the paramilitaries.
Khartoum has been a battleground throughout the war and remains devastated, with health and sanitation infrastructure barely functioning.
Up to 90% of hospitals in the main conflict zones have been forced out of service by the fighting. Now, the capital faces a major health crisis.
A cholera outbreak killed 70 people on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Khartoum state health ministry said Thursday. Officials also reported more than 2,100 new infections in the same two-day period.
But the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said it is “difficult to assess the true scale of the outbreak” due to “significant discrepancies” in official data.
The federal health ministry reported 172 cholera deaths in the week ending Tuesday, 90% of them in Khartoum state.
Authorities said 89% of patients in isolation centers are recovering but warned that worsening environmental conditions are driving a surge in cases.
Cholera vaccinations have begun in Jebel Awila, the hardest-hit district in Khartoum, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesman said Thursday.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has delivered more than 22 metric tons of cholera and emergency health supplies, spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.
Cholera is endemic to Sudan, but outbreaks have worsened and become more frequent since the war began.
Since August, health authorities have recorded more than 65,000 cases and over 1,700 deaths across 12 of Sudan’s 18 states.
“Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale public health disaster,” said Eatizaz Yousif, Sudan director for the International Rescue Committee.
“The combination of conflict, displacement, destroyed critical infrastructure and limited access to clean water is fueling the resurgence of cholera and other deadly diseases.”
Aid agencies warn that without urgent action, the spread of disease is likely to worsen with the start of the rainy season next month, which will further restrict humanitarian access.
Sudan’s government also faces U.S. sanctions over allegations by Washington that the Sudanese military used chemical weapons last year in its war against the RSF.
On Thursday, Sudan’s foreign ministry announced the creation of a national committee to investigate the charges, while expressing its “disbelief in the validity of the U.S. administration’s accusations.”
