Sudan’s army has made gains in the war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary in recent weeks as it tries to gain the upper hand in the three-and-a-half-year war that has ravaged one of the poorest countries in the world.
The Sudanese armed forces (SAF) on Friday said its soldiers captured the town of al-Mazroub after fierce fighting. The town is one of the RSF’s most important positions in North Kordofan, and its capture extends a series of military successes in a region that has become a central battleground in the civil war.
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The SAF has pushed the RSF out of much of the state, increasing pressure on the paramilitary group’s positions and supply routes.
But the wider war remains far from settled, with the RSF still controlling almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan.
Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, after months of tensions between the SAF and the RSF. The conflict has since expanded to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states and has displaced 14 million people, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
So what are the latest gains made by the Sudanese army? And is it gaining the upper hand?
What gains has the army made?
The capture of al-Mazroub on Friday is the latest advance for the army in North Kordofan.
“The Sudanese army has taken full control of al-Mazroub after battles with the Rapid Support Forces,” Mohamed Deidan, spokesman for the army’s special forces, told the Anadolu news agency.
Deidan described the capture as an important step in the army’s efforts to cut the RSF’s supply lines, saying the town serves as a link between army-controlled North Kordofan and West Kordofan, which is an RSF stronghold.
He called the advance a major turning point in the fighting in the Kordofan region.
Fighting across Kordofan has intensified since late 2025 after the RSF captured el-Fasher, the army’s last major stronghold in Darfur.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Sudanese army announced it had delivered a “knockout blow” to the RSF and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), in Blue Nile state, claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on fighters and equipment. SPLM-N controls parts of South Kordofan.
In a statement, the army’s Fourth Infantry Division said its troops, backed by supporting forces, targeted the two groups in the Minza and Bashkarkad areas.
The operation inflicted “heavy losses in lives and equipment”, disrupted their movements and thwarted attempts to advance towards army positions, the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF.
However, separately on Saturday, Blue Nile Governor Ahmed al-Omda Badi said the RSF launched drone attacks on the governor’s house but the aircraft were intercepted by air defences. He did not give details about any casualties or damage from the attack.
Again, the RSF has not commented on this government statement.
Blue Nile in southeastern Sudan has witnessed a military escalation in recent days with the RSF and SPLM-N launching attacks on several areas in the state.
What areas do the Sudanese army and RSF control?
The SAF controls Khartoum and most of the country’s north, east and centre while the RSF controls much of western Sudan, including almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan.
South Kordofan remains contested while the SPLM-N holds pockets of territory in the south.
The balance has changed significantly during the war. The army recovered Khartoum and other areas in central Sudan after suffering major losses early in the conflict.
But the RSF’s capture of el-Fasher in October 2025 cemented its control over Darfur and shifted the main front eastwards towards the Kordofan region.
According to an Al Jazeera analysis of data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), an independent conflict monitor, about 19.7 percent of all of the war’s recorded attacks have taken place in the Kordofan area, putting the region second only to Khartoum.
In July, the International Organization for Migration said the number of people newly displaced across Kordofan had risen by nearly two-thirds since February to more than 219,000.
What is the humanitarian situation on the ground?
The shifting front lines have done little to ease Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe.
About 19.5 million people – more than 40 percent of the population – were facing acute hunger while 14 areas in North Darfur, South Darfur and South Kordofan were at risk of famine, the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification hunger monitor said in May.
About 825,000 children were projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year, it added.
In September, the Sudanese pound had lost nearly half its value in army-held territory since the beginning of the summer, putting basic goods beyond the reach of many families.
