Chronicles from the Battlefield Babanusa: The Resilient Heart of Kordofan… A City on the Line of Fire and the Memory of
30 November, 2025
Port Sudan, (Sudanow) — The systematic destruction practiced by the rebel militia and its mercenaries against public and private property has spared no one. It has impacted agricultural, industrial, and pastoral projects in both rural and urban areas. Even cities and neighborhoods have been struck by this devastation, turning into ghost towns. The city of Babanusa stands as a model of the destruction that has befallen these cities.
Sudanow reviewed the scale of the destruction inflicted upon the city through an interview with Ambassador Muawiya Al-Toum Bukhari, a political and strategic analyst, who stated:
Babanusa (sometimes written as "Abnusa") is a city in the heart of the Greater Kordofan region, in the West Kordofan State of central Sudan. It lies approximately (670–700) kilometers southwest of Khartoum, situated within a tropical climatic belt. Standing on the edge of the belt connecting the West and the South, Babanusa represents one of Sudan's most vital geographical and strategic points.
Though small in size, it has a significant impact on economic movement, transport routes, trade balances, and communication networks between the North and East on one hand, and the West and South on the other. In long silence, Babanusa formed the hidden artery through which goods, railway lines, civilian travel, and the dreams of thousands of families seeking stability flowed. However, this heart has not escaped the bleeding of war; history, economy, and society today all face a test of survival.
The Military and Strategic Importance of the City of
Babanusa possesses an exceptional location that makes it one of the most sensitive cities in the current Sudanese theater of war, for the following reasons:
A Strategic Transport Hub:
Babanusa is historically the largest land and rail junction connecting Darfur, Kordofan, the White Nile, and the depth of the center up to Khartoum. Controlling it means controlling supply lines and movement between western and central Sudan.
The Eastern Gateway to Western Sudan:
The city represents a vital transition point from West Kordofan to South Kordofan, and from there to South and North Darfur. Any advance or withdrawal in this area is read militarily as an indicator of the reshaping of the balance of power in the west of the country.
A Logistical Incubator for the Armed Forces:
For decades, Babanusa has been a center for assembling and mobilizing forces toward the western fronts. Its proximity to major garrisons in Muglad, Dilling, and El Obeid makes it a decisive support and supply station.
The Route to Oil Regions:
The city is located near Sudan’s most important oil fields, particularly Heglig and its surroundings, making control over it part of energy security and the protection of vital infrastructure.
Influence on the Tribal and Social Equation:
The nature of its demographic composition and its contact with nomadic routes give it weight in societal stability. Controlling it is used as a political-social message, not merely a military gain.
Key to Securing Trade Lines and Vital Goods:
The stability of Babanusa leads to the protection of the commercial supply line connecting El Obeid – Muglad – Fula. This line reflects directly on the economic and humanitarian conditions in Kordofan and Darfur.
Therefore, Babanusa is not just a city on the fighting line; it is a center of strategic gravity controlling supply routes, the logistical engineering of the war, energy security, and the unity of the operational theater between the West and the Center. Consequently, any field shift within it carries implications extending beyond its geography to the future balance of power in all of Sudan. Hence, it is targeted with focus by the rebellion and the agendas of its project.
First: The City of Babanusa… The Location That Creates the Role
Located in West Kordofan State, approaching 700 kilometers southwest of Khartoum, Babanusa is a city shaped around the railway station. For years, this station represented the nexus of El Obeid–Babanusa–Waw line, one of the most important transport lines linking Sudan to its south since the early twentieth century.
This location did not merely make it a transit station; it transformed it into an active commercial center supplying Kordofan and neighboring states with goods, receiving the region's pastoral and agricultural products, and redistributing them via the national transport network. Although Babanusa is not a massive city, its role exceeds its demographic size; it is a balance point between the Misseriya and Hawazma communities and other components of the region, and an administrative and service center that has played the role of "the city indispensable to the villages" for decades.
Second: Economic and Historical Importance… Babanusa, Made by the Railway
1. Babanusa and the Railway: A Historical Relationship
It is difficult to speak of Babanusa without invoking the history of the Sudanese railway, as the arrival of the train to the area marked a turning point, shifting it from a rural gathering to an established city with a fragrance in the collective memory. The station was a hub for maintenance workshops, railway workers, and services linked to transport lines. Because the Babanusa–Waw line was a strategic artery, markets, warehouses, and shops flourished around it, and the city became a transit point for thousands of travelers daily.
2. An Industrial and Agricultural Base
The sixties and seventies witnessed an industrial and agricultural boom; dairy factories and dried milk production units were established—a project linked at the time to state attempts to bolster industries associated with the rich pastures of Kordofan. This was alongside the famous Hibiscus (Karkade) crop. Grain and livestock markets also flourished, and merchants relied on Babanusa as a base for storage and export, especially given its proximity to nomadic paths and traditional caravan routes.
3. A Logistical Role Extending to South Sudan
The city was an important gateway for informal border trade with the South before the secession. Over time, it became a main corridor for goods heading to the states of South Sudan, particularly via the railway line to Waw. This location gave it regional importance transcending Sudan’s borders, making its economic stability linked to the stability of the entire region. Thus, "Abnusa," with the historical and emotional connection it holds in the souls of the region's people and Sudan as a whole, possesses symbolism that transcends geography.
Third: The Impact of Armed Conflicts… From a Vibrating City to a Groaning City!
Babanusa did not know war as a passing event; rather, it knew it as a heavy fate that kept returning in different seasons of Sudan's history. However, what occurred during the recent armed conflict launched by the Rapid Support Forces militia was harsher and deeper in impact than any previous stage.
1. A City on the Line of Fire
Since the outbreak of the war (in April 2023), Babanusa turned into one of the hotbeds of armed clashes. The advance of armed groups and operations of aerial and artillery bombardment led to the destruction of sensitive infrastructure and the occupation of strategic sites within the city. Consequently, the city witnessed repeated clashes and a severance of supply lines. With the widening scope of the war striking Sudan recently, Babanusa became a point of contact between various armed groups.
The city witnessed repeated military operations, artillery shelling, and clashes in its residential neighborhoods and the vicinity of the train station. These developments did not only destroy buildings; they destroyed the sense of safety and pushed thousands of families to make the decision to leave. Some neighborhoods turned into open confrontation zones, leading to the suspension of all aspects of civil life, from schools to markets to hospitals, causing the city to lose its population base and active commercial movement.
2. Mass Displacement From a Crowded City to a "Ghost Town"
With every wave of fighting, displaced persons would exit toward relatively safe villages or to the cities of El Obeid, Fula, and Muglad. Within a few months, the population dropped to less than half, and Babanusa’s main streets turned into corridors empty of everything except traces of destruction and the remains of closed shops. Images of the city that once buzzed with life now reflect an appearance closer to a "ghost town." This vast displacement resulted in the almost total collapse of economic activity and the disruption of distribution chains, trade, and economic facets that relied on the stability of movement in the city.
3. Striking Infrastructure and Disabling Productive Sectors
Railway facilities were damaged, and workshops stopped working due to the absence of workers and fear for their lives. Dairy factories and agricultural production labs closed or reduced activity to a halt, and traditional markets lost their goods and patrons. The interruption of electricity and water and damage to internal roads increased the difficulty of survival, even for the few families who preferred to stay or found no means to displace.
4. The Humanitarian Impact:
A Generation Living in Shock!
The children of Babanusa have lived a harsh experience: interruption of education, loss of housing, trauma from shelling, and experiences of internal displacement. Many of them live today in displacement areas lacking food and healthcare, placing an entire generation at risk of losing opportunities for education and psychological and social development.
Women were also the most affected; they bore the burden of displacement, lack of income, and the interruption of community support the city used to provide. As for the elderly, they found themselves facing a reality unfamiliar in a city that was for decades a symbol of calm, stability, and peaceful coexistence.
5. The Conflict's Impact on the Region and All of Sudan
West Kordofan was widely affected by the disruption of a pivotal city like Babanusa. The disruption of the line connecting to the South means higher costs for goods, a decline in supply capacity via rail, and increased reliance on unsafe roads. Furthermore, the decline in livestock and grain production in the area due to conflicts affected markets in Khartoum, Kordofan, and other states, in a country that relies heavily on regional products for its food and trade.
Babanusa… A City That Can Be Saved
Despite the collapse the city has experienced, Babanusa is not a hopeless case. Bringing life back to it requires three fundamental conditions:
* A complete cessation of military operations and the re-securing of the city's perimeter.
* Re-operating the railway as the main economic artery.
* An urgent reconstruction program that includes:
* Repairing roads and the train station.
* Rehabilitating factories and markets.
* A direct support program for displaced persons for voluntary return.
* Organized humanitarian intervention to address the effects of psychological and educational trauma on children and to discharge the negative charge that has overshadowed them.
Potential Military Scenarios
Babanusa—despite the complexities of the scene inside it is practically heading within the scope of four potential scenarios: an attempted breach (the most dangerous), defensive resilience, a counter-attack, or field stagnation. However, current data shows it remains resistant to falling, and that a repetition of El Fasher plot is nearly impossible given the strong positioning of the 22nd Division. The fighting has turned into attrition exhausting the attackers, who have lost many field advantages, in addition to the dispersal of rebel forces across other fronts and the inevitability of Army reinforcements arriving. Therefore, the scale clearly tips toward the resilience of the Armed Forces and their ability to triumph, while their leaders—and those supporting them—realize they will absolutely not allow El Fasher scenario to pass a second time.
In the conclusion of his talk to Sudanow, Ambassador Muawiya says:
"Babanusa is not just a city on the margins of events; it is the heart of an entire region, a significant logistical corridor, and a historical memory for modern Sudan. It houses the headquarters of the 22nd Infantry Division of the Sudanese Army. Its fortified base shaped the resilience of this city against desperate attempts by the rebellion to attack it with artillery and drones in an attempt to bring it down. Yet, despite the suffering, it confronted these attempts with valor, which demonstrates its symbolism."
The continuation of the war means the continuation of bleeding, not just for one city, but for all of Sudan. Saving Babanusa today is not merely a humanitarian act; it is an investment in the future of stability, development, and trade between the North, West, and South. The longer the ceasefire and restoration of security are delayed, the longer and more complex the road to recovery becomes.
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30 November, 2025
Chronicles from the Battlefield Babanusa: The Resilient Heart of Kordofan… A City on the Line of Fire and the Memory of
Port Sudan, (Sudanow) — The systematic destruction practiced by the rebel militia and its mercenaries against public and private property has spared no one. It has impacted agricultural, industrial, and pastoral projects in both rural and urban areas. Even cities and neighborhoods have been struck by this devastation, turning into ghost towns. The city of Babanusa stands as a model of the destruction that has befallen these cities...
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