Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces say they have killed hundreds of army soldiers and allied militiamen in fighting around a strategic axis that links the capital with North Kordofan and White Nile State.
The axis is used by Sudan's military to supply its forces in North Kordofan, where it is fighting the RSF to defend the regional capital Al Obeid – which has come under growing pressure from the paramilitary.
Maintaining control of Al Obeid is essential to the military's plans to seize western and Southern Kordofan and later move to recapture the western region of Darfur, most of which is in the hands of the RSF.
The army and the RSF have been fighting each other since April 2023. The war has devastated the vast Afro-Arab nation, killing tens of thousands, displacing more than 13 million and creating a grave humanitarian crisis that has left some 25 million people – half the population – facing acute hunger.
In a statement, the RSF said its fighters have killed at least 600 soldiers and militiamen in the fighting this week at Raheed Al Nubah and Jabrat El Sheikh. Both locations are west of Omdurman which, together with the cities of Khartoum and Bahri make up the Sudanese capital's greater region.
Although the fighting is about 250km from the capital, seizing the area would significantly undermine the army's situation in North Kordofan, where fierce fighting has raged this week.
There was no word from the army on the fighting west of the capital and it was not immediately possible to verify the RSF's claim of victory or the relatively high death toll in the army's ranks.
RSF video clips shared online purport to show its fighters celebrating their defeat of the army, but show only one pickup lorry with armed forces markings on its side and one motionless body on the ground.
After 29 months of fighting, the army is in control of the "tripartite" capital, as well as the eastern, northern and central regions of the country. The RSF was thrown out of the capital and the central region earlier this year, but remains in control of Darfur, except the city of El Fasher, and parts of Kordofan.
Intense fighting has been taking place in and around El Fasher for months, with the RSF slowly closing in on the local army garrison – home to the 6th Infantry Division – but unable to seize it due to stiff resistance by the troops and their allies.
Al Shafie Ahmed reported from Kampala, Uganda
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
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Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
