Sudan’s army captures new town amid military advances against paramilitary RSF

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese army captured a new town in southern Sudan on Sunday, in the latest military gains against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

The Nidaa Al-Wasat Platform, a local volunteer group, said in a brief statement that the RSF has no military presence in Alkotainh town in the White Nile State.

Activists shared videos on social media showing residents chanting in support of the army forces after a 15-month RSF control of the town.

There was no immediate comment from the army or the RSF on the report.

Alkotainh, 100 kilometers south of the capital Khartoum, was the only town controlled by the paramilitary group in southern Sudan.

The RSF still controls four of Darfur’s five states, while northern and eastern Sudan remain largely unaffected by the fighting.

In Khartoum State, which consists of three cities, the army now controls 90% of Bahri in the north, most of Omdurman in the west, and 60% of central Khartoum, where the presidential palace and international airport are located. Army forces have nearly encircled these strategic sites, while RSF fighters remain entrenched in neighborhoods in the east and south.

The Sudanese army and RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

Calls by the international community and the UN for an end to the war are mounting, with warnings of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages. The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.