CAIRO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Monday that it seized full control of Babanusa, a transport junction in the country's oil-producing south, though its rival, the Sudanese army, disputed the claim.
In a statement on Monday, the RSF said its "liberation" of Babanusa in West Kordofan state — the latest frontline in the war in Sudan — came as it repelled "a surprise attack" by the Sudanese army in what it called "a clear violation of the humanitarian truce."
On Tuesday, the army denied that the RSF had taken the entire town, and accused its rivals of continuing attacks on Babanusa despite RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo's announcement of a unilateral ceasefire.
In a statement, the army said RSF fighters had launched daily artillery and drone strikes on the town and that troops had repelled a new assault on Monday.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the claims by the rival forces.
The army dismissed the ceasefire declaration as a political tactic aimed at masking RSF movements and alleged foreign support.
On November 19, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would intervene to stop the conflict, which erupted from a power struggle in April 2023.
The United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia - known as the Quad - earlier in November proposed a plan for a three-month truce followed by peace talks. The RSF responded by saying it had accepted the plan, but soon after attacked army territory with a barrage of drone strikes.
The RSF's assault on Babanusa builds on the group's momentum after it took al-Fashir, the army's last holdout in Darfur, in October.
(Reporting by Menna Alaa El Din and Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Alexander Dziadosz and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Aidan Lewis)
