The city of Bara, once known for its lemon trees that bloomed profusely in the spring, is now in ruins following siege, battles, and mass killings of civilians. Instead of rain, the trees were drenched in blood.
Before the Sudanese war began in April 2023, Bara had a population of about 100,000 people. Although some residents are still visible in the city, many lie dead in the streets because the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) refused to bury those they killed.
Representatives of Middle East Eye spoke with sources who recently visited Bara. They gained rare access after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their allies managed to decisively retake the city from the RSF in July. These sources described the widespread presence of corpses. The luckiest among the deceased in Bara were found in shallow graves or buried in relatively secluded places in their homes.
The smell of rotting flesh has replaced the aroma of lemon blossoms in Bara. An engineer working in the city warns that if the problem is not solved, these bodies could contaminate the entire water supply. He told MEE that Bara's water sources are groundwater and wells no deeper than 20–30 meters, and there is a high probability of decomposing bodies mixing with these sources. 'If this happens, we could face a major threat to human and even livestock life.'
Complete Destruction
Control over Bara, which is located on a strategic route connecting Khartoum with resource-rich Kordofan, has been changing in recent months. After several raids, the RSF captured the city in October 2025, using it as a base for shelling the SAF outpost of El Obeid, located 60 km from the city, using drones.
The RSF, a paramilitary force supported by the UAE and accused of genocide by the United States and several human rights groups, has committed atrocities across Sudan. In Darfur, its ethnically motivated massacres have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people in the cities of El Geneina and El Fasher.
Osman Abdulatif, a member of the popular resistance committee in Bara supporting the SAF against the RSF, believes that similar scenes occurred in his city. He told MEE in El Obeid that the clashes and atrocities committed by the RSF in Bara were not covered as much as in other areas, but they believe the RSF killed hundreds of people in Bara and surrounding villages. 'We visited the city a few days after the SAF took control of it and found everything destroyed. There were bodies in the streets and houses, and the entire population had left the city and was relocated to El Obeid and other areas.'
Abdulatif called on authorities to start removing the bodies and a large number of unexploded ordnance threatening civilian lives as soon as possible. He added that only two elderly people were found still living in Bara—a man and a woman who fortunately survived despite the RSF long preventing them from eating.
Although access to Bara was impossible, Middle East Eye was able to visit several adjacent areas that also bore traces of destruction and displacement. Sources working with local organizations and humanitarian volunteers told MEE that hundreds of bodies also need to be exhumed in nearby Gabrat al-Sheikh and Umm Sial. Local authorities and NGOs are expected to start this work soon.
One source, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that they are helping local volunteers begin this process, but they definitely need technical and humanitarian support from morgues, civil defense, NGOs, and other governmental and non-governmental structures to carry out this task jointly.
A volunteer from Umm Sial, neighboring Bara, told MEE that at this location, at least 200 bodies are still stuck. The RSF and SAF fiercely fought for control over places like Umm Sial and Gabrat al-Sheikh. These areas not only surround Bara; whoever controls them controls the Export Road—the logistical artery that delivers gold, gum arabic, silica, and agricultural products from Kordofan to the capital and beyond.
The SAF has now managed to secure this road, along with the supply line to El Obeid, which was under RSF siege for a long time.
Counterattack
Godad Abdul Hadi, a senior member of the armed popular resistance in North Kordofan, believes that the SAF offensive has shifted the balance of power in favor of the army. He noted that this advance provided the SAF with a more solid position and protection for El Obeid, opening the shortest route between Kordofan and the capital Khartoum. Essentially, this means that El Obeid and Omdurman have become safer.
Mohammed Abbas, a trader in the El Obeid market, said that life has become much easier since the blockade was lifted and the Export Road secured. 'We saw the market open and supplies arriving in El Obeid after a long time. All this happened after the liberation of Bara and other areas,' he told MEE.
According to military sources, drone attacks on El Obeid and even Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city across the Nile, have noticeably decreased. Abdul Hadi explained that heavy drone attacks reduced after the SAF captured Bara and other areas in Kordofan, as these air operations are launched from there.
In June, the situation in El Obeid looked bleak. Continuous RSF attacks and the threat of invasion raised fears that the capital of North Kordofan would face the same fate as El Fasher, where, according to estimates, at least 60,000 people died in October 2025. The UK, France, and other European countries, as well as high-ranking UN officials, called on the RSF to cease attacks on El Obeid, fearing another bloody massacre.
Abdulatif from the North Kordofan popular resistance told MEE that these calls to the RSF not to violate civilian rights sounded hollow. 'If they were honest, they should have forced the RSF to lift the blockade instead of just telling them not to commit atrocities,' he said. He added that the international community has lost trust in what is happening in El Obeid and Kordofan. 'When they call on the RSF not to commit crimes, they are effectively indirectly encouraging them to continue the blockade and increase human suffering. But thank God, we were able to lift the blockade ourselves at this stage, especially after the liberation of Bara and other areas.'
Nevertheless, the RSF has not given up hope of controlling North Kordofan. In recent weeks, it has countered the SAF offensive with intense drone attacks on Gabrat al-Sheikh and further, including Omdurman, Al-Damar, and even Atbara in the Nile state, north of Khartoum. The SAF insists that all counterattacks around Bara and El Obeid have been repelled, stating that its forces are now moving through West Kordofan towards an RSF outpost in Darfur. However, a source well acquainted with the situation in North Kordofan told MEE that RSF fighters remain in the areas of Sodari and Al-Mazrub, which are about 100 km from Bara. This source, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, warned MEE that recent SAF victories could be reversed if they do not advance to secure other areas of North and West Kordofan.
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