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.
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that → make → world
The Sudanese armed forces (SAF) on Friday said its soldiers captured the town of al-Mazroub after fierce fighting.
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soldiers → say → 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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that → extend → war
do Sudan’s humanitarian truces keep failing and who is to blame?
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who → fail → ?
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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.
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RSF → echo → Kordofan
Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, after months of tensions between the SAF and the RSF.
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war → erupt → SAF
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.
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conflict → expand → crises
So what are the latest gains made by the Sudanese army?
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gains → make → army
And is it gaining the upper hand?
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it → gain → hand
What gains has the army made?
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army → make → gains
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.
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Deidan → take → 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.
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which → describe → Kordofan
He called the advance a major turning point in the fighting in the Kordofan region.
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He → call → region
Fighting across Kordofan has intensified since late 2025 after the RSF captured el-Fasher, the army’s last major stronghold in Darfur.
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RSF → intensify → 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.
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it → announce → fighters
SPLM-N controls parts of South Kordofan.
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N → control → 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.
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troops → say → areas
The operation inflicted “heavy losses in lives and equipment”, disrupted their movements and thwarted attempts to advance towards army positions, the statement said.
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statement → inflict → positions
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.
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aircraft → say → defences
He did not give details about any casualties or damage from the attack.
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He → give → attack
Again, the RSF has not commented on this government statement.
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RSF → comment → 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.
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RSF → witness → state
What areas do the Sudanese army and RSF control?
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army → control → areas
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.
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RSF → control → Kordofan
South Kordofan remains contested while the SPLM-N holds pockets of territory in the south.
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N → remain → south
The balance has changed significantly during the war.
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balance → change → war
The army recovered Khartoum and other areas in central Sudan after suffering major losses early in the conflict.
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army → recover → 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.
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capture → cement → 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.
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percent → accord → 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.
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number → say → 219,000
The shifting front lines have done little to ease Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe.
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lines → shift → 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.
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monitor → face → May
About 825,000 children were projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year, it added.
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it → project → malnutrition
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.
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pound → lose → families
The Aporia
