South Darfur Tribal Violence Kills 50+ in Kubum Area; RSF Accused of Arming Factions

Ongoing fighting between the Salamat and Beni Halba tribal communities in and around Kubum (Kubum/Markundi area), South Darfur, had claimed at least 50 civilian lives as of June 3, 2026, according to Sudan Tribune reporting citing local sources and humanitarian monitors. The inter-communal violence — which began around May 23 and escalated through May 31 into early June — has been characterized by RSF supplying combat vehicles, weaponry, and armed fighters to one of the warring factions, effectively militarizing a pre-existing tribal dispute and raising the death toll beyond what typical inter-communal violence would produce. Witnesses reported RSF-branded vehicles embedded with Beni Halba clan forces. The Kubum area had not previously figured prominently in RSF's operational reporting, suggesting a southward extension of RSF proxy conflict management in South Darfur. This tribal fighting complex is distinct from the June 1 drone strike on a gathering near Kabum that killed 12, though both events occurred within the same geographic zone and operational context. The RSF's role in arming and embedding with one tribal faction continues its documented strategy of using proxy tribal forces to assert territorial control and generate ethnic cleansing across Darfur, following similar patterns deployed in West Darfur (Masalit), Central Darfur, and North Darfur since 2023.