Sudan’s army said it had seized the town of al-Mazroub in North Kordofan after intense fighting, describing the advance as a significant blow to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group’s supply lines in the ongoing civil war.
Mohamed Deidan, spokesman for the army’s special forces, told the Anadolu news agency: “The Sudanese army has taken full control of al-Mazroub after battles with the Rapid Support Forces.” He said the town links army-held areas of North Kordofan with West Kordofan, an RSF stronghold, and called the capture a major turning point in the fighting across the Kordofan region.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have pushed the RSF out of much of North Kordofan in recent weeks, increasing pressure on the paramilitary’s positions. Fighting in the region has intensified since late 2025 after the RSF took el-Fasher, the army’s last major stronghold in Darfur.
On Saturday the 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. The Fourth Infantry Division said its forces inflicted heavy losses in lives and equipment in the Minza and Bashkarkad areas, disrupting movements and thwarting advances towards army positions.
Blue Nile Governor Ahmed al-Omda Badi separately reported that RSF drones targeted his residence but were intercepted by air defences. The RSF has not commented on either claim.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the SAF and RSF, has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states and displaced 14 million people. The army controls Khartoum and most of the north, east and centre, while the RSF holds almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan. South Kordofan remains contested.
Despite the battlefield shifts, the humanitarian crisis continues. About 19.5 million people face acute hunger, according to a United Nations-backed assessment in May, with 14 areas in Darfur and South Kordofan at risk of famine.
