Civilians Forced into Battle as RSF Escalates Attacks in Sudan's Kordofan

The Sudanese war has increasingly drawn civilians into combat as fighting spreads to new regions, with Kordofan emerging as a critical battleground where residents say they have no choice but to take up arms against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since the conflict escalated in April 2023, civilians across Sudan—from Darfur to al-Jazira—have been forced to defend themselves as state security collapses and paramilitary violence intensifies. Now, in North Kordofan’s strategic city of Bara, civilians have joined the Popular Resistance, a civilian defense force operating under the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), to resist RSF advances along the Export Road.

The Popular Resistance was formally established in June 2023 by SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who has armed and trained tens of thousands of civilians. The force includes diverse groups, including former pro-democracy activists who once opposed military rule, though political blocs like Sumood, led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, warn that conservative factions may be using the movement to restore figures associated with former President Omar al-Bashir. Despite these concerns, civilians in Bara describe a stark reality: survival depends on resistance.

Mustafa Karam al-Din, a pharmacist from Bara, joined the Popular Resistance after the RSF killed his brother and destroyed his home during a raid last year. “They raided our house, killing my brother and others in my neighborhood,” he said. “I had no option but to take up weapons to protect my family and neighbors.” The RSF, he said, targeted civilians indiscriminately when they retook Bara, seeking revenge after residents celebrated its earlier expulsion.

Since October 2024, Bara has been a flashpoint, changing hands multiple times. Karam al-Din, now stationed at a frontline checkpoint, claims the RSF is backed by foreign actors, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which he says supplies weapons and mercenaries to the paramilitary group. “This conflict has become a war against the UAE’s foreign invasion, which is using the RSF as a tool,” he said. He also reported capturing foreign mercenaries from Colombia and South Sudan fighting alongside the RSF in nearby areas.

For many displaced civilians, the Popular Resistance offers the only path to safety. Godat Abdul Hadi, a coordinator with the movement in el-Obeid, says hundreds of displaced youths from Bara have received military training since the war began. “The number was initially small, but it has grown in response to RSF invasions and widespread atrocities,” he said.

Among the skeptics is Mohammed Adam, a pro-democracy activist and member of the Resistance Committees that led the 2019 revolution. Though initially hesitant about armed resistance, he said the RSF’s brutality left no alternative. When the RSF entered Bara in October 2024, Adam and his friends hid weapons to avoid execution as suspected fighters. “We saw dozens of dead bodies in the streets,” he recalled. “The RSF killed a neighbor and attacked a funeral, killing more people without reason.”

Not all activists support the Popular Resistance. One anonymous member of the Resistance Committees in Bara alleged the movement is led by former regime loyalists aiming to restore al-Bashir-era figures. “This war has enabled the old regime to return through the SAF,” the activist said, calling for an end to the conflict through negotiated concessions.

Yet for civilians in Bara, the choice is clear: resist or perish. As Adam put it, “The RSF attacks everybody—civilians or military, young or old. They take revenge on everyone in Bara.”

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