A local emergency group in Sudan's West Kordofan state says paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters cut satellite internet and forced civilians to move towards Iyal Bakhit, an area near the town of El-Khwei, as fighting in the region intensified on Sunday.
The Dar Hamar Emergency Room, a local group, said in a statement dated 8 November that RSF fighters attacked the market in Al-Kubra, in Al-Nuhud locality, broke open shop doors to bring in military vehicles, shut down Starlink satellite internet and forced people at gunpoint towards Iyal Bakhit, a rural area near the town of El-Khwei, according to SudanAlaan. The outlet adds that unnamed field sources report the RSF confiscating Starlink devices in Al-Nuhud city, which would cut residents' ability to contact relatives outside; satellite internet is an essential link where conventional networks are weak. The original statement and the allegations have not been independently verified; no RSF response was available in the reporting reviewed.
Elsewhere in the state, the army and its allies reported more clashes. Sudan Tribune, citing military sources, describes fierce fighting on Sunday morning at Abu Minaiqir, about 55 km north of El-Khwei, and clashes near Um Kuraidim. The army also says it shot down a long-range drone near Wad Banda, and an allied Joint Force spokesperson claimed heavy RSF losses. Tribune says the army's westward push is meant to secure routes towards Darfur; it reports that the army and its allies recently seized Iyal Bakhit and dozens of nearby villages. All of that comes from the army and its allies and has not been independently verified.