{"id":52168,"date":"2025-07-31T01:48:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T22:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=52168"},"modified":"2025-07-31T01:53:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T22:53:22","slug":"the-six-mountains-clashes-between-popular-resistance-and-the-rsf-over-a-strategic-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/31\/the-six-mountains-clashes-between-popular-resistance-and-the-rsf-over-a-strategic-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Sudan Situation Log (No. 86): From the Six Mountains, Umbadda, and Tawila"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sudan Events – Agencies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Six Mountains: Clashes Between Popular Resistance and the RSF Over a Strategic Road<\/strong><\/p>\n

Armed clashes erupted on Sunday, July 13, between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a group of young fighters from the Six Mountains Resistance in Habila locality, South Kordofan. The confrontation took place on the road linking Kartala and Rahad Abu Dakana in North Kordofan, near the Salamat area, resulting in the death of eight RSF members and one resistance fighter, in addition to several injuries, according to a resistance member who spoke to Atar.
\nFollowing the successful passage of three commercial convoys along this route, an RSF unit arrived from the Debeiker area and stationed itself in Salamat, located between Kartala and Rahad. The unit consisted of two pickup trucks and several motorcycles, and mounted an artillery piece atop a mountain overlooking the road, aiming to intercept and loot goods.
\nA member of the resistance explained that since the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces from Kartala on January 26, 2024, after the RSF entered Habila, the youth of the Six Mountains\u2014Kartala, Karoro, Kafir, Kadru, Dabatna, and Kaladji\u2014took over road protection duties themselves as part of what\u2019s known as the \u201cResistance Force,\u201d as the area had become devoid of both army and RSF forces.
\nThe term \u201cSix Mountains\u201d refers to a group of mountains located east of Habila locality in South Kordofan, within the Ajang ethnic group\u2019s region. Kartala and the surrounding villages are known for rain-fed agriculture, fertile soil, and the production of crops such as various types of sorghum, sesame, and millet, as well as a significant amount of livestock.
\nLocal residents and youth succeeded in reopening a shortcut road linking Kartala directly to Rahad, which takes only about three hours to traverse. This is in contrast to the longer wartime route that passes through Dallami, Um Barmbita, and Abu Karshola before reaching Rahad, a journey that takes two full days.
\nThe Rahad route is vital to the Six Mountains\u2019 economy, as residents rely on the Rahad market to sell their crops and livestock. It is currently the main source of consumer goods for the area\u2014such as sugar, cooking oil, salt, soap, and onions. Fuel supplies, including diesel and gasoline, come from Dallami via the army stationed there. Conversely, Dallami also relies on Kartala for certain goods transported by traders from Rahad. The Rahad market is thus a critical outlet for agricultural products from the Six Mountains.
\nMeanwhile, residents of the Six Mountains are preparing for the rainy season and the upcoming agricultural cycle, although rainfall has been delayed this year. Efforts are currently underway to secure fuel for operating farming machinery in preparation for planting.<\/p>\n

Omdurman\u2019s Umbadda: Deteriorating Security Conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Khartoum State\u2013 Despite the cessation of active fighting in Khartoum between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, residents of Umbadda locality continue to endure difficult living conditions, including power outages, water shortages, and a surge in armed robberies both day and night.
\nThe locality, which remained under RSF control between May 2023 and April 2025, lacks basic services. Yusuf, a resident of Block 6, told *Atar*: \u201cPeople have started returning to their homes, only to find that essential services such as water and electricity are unavailable.\u201d
\nHe noted that the biggest concern for returning residents is the rampant looting and armed robberies carried out in broad daylight by men on motorcycles, armed with guns and dressed in military uniforms. \u201cThey stop every citizen and rob them of all their belongings. If someone resists handing over their phone or wallet, they shoot them dead or in the legs. It\u2019s a common and ongoing practice now,\u201d Yusuf said.
\nIbrahim, a resident of Block 38 in Umbadda, added: \u201cAnyone who returns home by 3 p.m. cannot leave again until the next morning. Movement completely stops at night, and it\u2019s impossible to step outside after dark.\u201d
\nLooting continues in Umbadda despite the return of police operations from their headquarters on Radmiya Street and the reopening of the Libya Market police station, which was previously run by the RSF during their control of the area.
\nAccording to merchants in the Libya and Abu Zaid markets, commercial activity has resumed at no more than 50%.
\nTawila lies about 65 kilometers west of El Fasher and has become a refuge for those fleeing RSF violence in the city and surrounding rural areas. Since April, around 327,000 people have been displaced to Tawila, most of them from Zamzam Camp, bringing the total number of displaced persons in the area to 560,000.
\nTawila is considered a neutral zone and falls under the control of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) \u2013 Abdel Wahid al-Nur faction.<\/p>\n

Quoted from Atar<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sudan Events – Agencies The Six Mountains: Clashes Between Popular Resistance and the RSF Over a Strategic Road Armed clashes erupted on Sunday, July 13, between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a group of young fighters from the Six Mountains Resistance in Habila locality, South Kordofan. The confrontation took place on the road linking …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52168"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52171,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52168\/revisions\/52171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}