At least 27 civilians killed in Sudan attack as war shifts to strategic heartland

An empty checkpoint where a mannequin dressed as a soldier stands in downtown Khartoum, Sudan, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Our Correspondence.

DAR ES SALAAM, May 31 — The killing of at least 27 civilians in Sudan's North Kordofan state has underscored the increasingly brutal nature of a conflict that is entering a new and potentially decisive phase, with fighting spreading across the country's strategic central regions.

A Sudanese medical group accused fighters affiliated with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the attack on villages near the town of Bara, an area that has become a focal point in the struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The RSF has not immediately commented on the allegations.

The latest violence comes as the balance of the war shifts away from the capital, Khartoum, where the army has recently regained significant ground, toward the Kordofan region, a vast territory linking central Sudan with the western Darfur region.

Analysts say control of Kordofan could prove critical to the outcome of the conflict. The region serves as a key logistical corridor connecting military supply routes, transport networks and commercial links between eastern and western Sudan.

"What we are seeing is not the end of the war after Khartoum, but rather its relocation," said a regional security analyst familiar with developments in Sudan. "The battle for Kordofan may ultimately determine which side gains strategic momentum."

The war erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. What began as a dispute over the integration of the RSF into the national military quickly escalated into a nationwide conflict.

More than three years later, Sudan faces one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. The United Nations estimates that tens of millions of people require humanitarian assistance, while more than 13 million have been displaced internally or across borders.

Human rights organizations and international agencies have repeatedly accused both sides of abuses against civilians, including indiscriminate attacks, sexual violence and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Both the army and the RSF have denied some allegations and blamed each other for atrocities.

The fighting has also evolved technologically. Increasing use of drones and long-range strikes has expanded the reach of both sides, exposing communities far from traditional front lines to attack and complicating humanitarian operations.

Recent clashes around Bara and other parts of North Kordofan suggest the region is becoming the next major theatre of war, raising concerns that civilian casualties and displacement could rise further in the months ahead.

Despite several international mediation efforts, no meaningful ceasefire has been achieved, and diplomatic initiatives have struggled to gain traction amid continued battlefield advances and shifting territorial control.

For many Sudanese civilians, the conflict's movement into Kordofan offers little hope that the war is nearing an end. Instead, it signals a new chapter in a conflict that continues to fragment Africa's third-largest country and deepen a humanitarian catastrophe with regional implications.