Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies have pushed into Kurmuk, a strategically vital town on the Sudanese border with Ethiopia, according to government and military sources.
The advance into the Blue Nile State location occurred on Thursday alongside fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North, prompting the Sudanese army to initiate a withdrawal. In an official statement, the RSF-led coalition claimed to have inflicted significant casualties on army personnel, compelled their retreat, and confiscated weapons and military equipment.
The local administration in Kurmuk reported that the border hub faced heavy drone strikes and artillery bombardment over a three-day period, stating the shelling originated from “the regional neighbourhood.” Despite the onslaught, local officials maintained that army units continued to confront the assault “with steadfastness and bravery” to protect the population and public infrastructure.
The town serves as a crucial cross-border transit point connecting Ethiopia to Blue Nile State and the broader Nile Valley region. Military and government sources confirmed that as the paramilitary forces entered the area, army troops withdrew to establish new positions outside the town. The location had previously been captured by the RSF in March before being retaken by government troops last month.
The fighting is part of the ongoing war that erupted in April 2023 over proposed plans to absorb the RSF into the national military. The violence has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced nearly 15 million people from their homes, according to UN statistics, regional authorities, and independent research groups.
In a separate engagement in North Kordofan, military sources confirmed that army forces successfully repelled a major RSF assault on Jabra al-Sheikh. The paramilitary push relied on heavy artillery, drone strikes, and over 250 combat vehicles. Sudanese troops killed dozens of assailants and captured several fighters during the engagement. Controlling Jabra al-Sheikh is critical, as the transport center provides access to el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, and Omdurman near Khartoum.
The clash follows a series of wide-ranging drone strikes launched by the RSF against five military-controlled cities. Those coordinated attacks resulted in two civilian deaths in el-Obeid and forced the closure of the city’s commercial market, according to the legal rights group Emergency Lawyers. Humanitarian organizations estimate total fatalities across the country have surpassed 200,000 in what international observers describe as the world’s worst displacement and severe hunger crisis.
