KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese army continued to make more military gains on Thursday against its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in central Sudan.

Local media said that army forces seized control of the towns of al-Maseed, al-Nuba, and al-Tayyi in Al-Jazirah State.

With the new gains, the army is now closing in on Giad city, a stronghold for RSF forces in central Sudan, and on Abu Quta town, some 50 kilometers from the capital Khartoum.

Social media activists published videos showing army troops inside the recaptured towns.

"We are determined to liberate every area from the (RSF) militia,” army spokesman Abdel Moneim Abdel Basit said in a video statement.

On Tuesday, the Sudanese army announced regaining control of al-Kamlin, the largest city in northern Al-Jazirah State.

On Jan. 11, the military declared its entry into Wad Madani, the capital city of Al-Jazirah, nearly one year after losing it to the RSF.

RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, later acknowledged the loss of Wad Madani, but described it as “a temporary setback, not a defeat in the broader conflict.”

Currently, the RSF forces remain in northern areas bordering Al-Jazirah and the northwestern areas near White Nile State, while the army controls most of Al-Jazirah State.

The 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.

International and UN calls for an end to the war are mounting, warning 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.