KHARTOUM / ISTANBUL

Sudanese army forces and allied fighters inflicted heavy losses on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the North Kordofan state, an allied group said Tuesday.

The Sudan Shield Forces, an ally of the army, said in a statement that it had carried out a “successful military combat mission” in the Um Sayala area of North Kordofan, as part of a plan “to eradicate rebellion and completely destroy its capabilities in the North Kordofan axis.”

The group claimed that it had inflicted heavy losses on the RSF in both personnel and equipment, “despite the large-scale mobilization of the militia, which was supported by drones and heavy artillery.”

It, however, acknowledged casualties among its fighters, including its commander, Abu Aqla Kikil, who sustained minor injuries.

Formed in early 2022 in the eastern Al-Jazirah state, the group has an estimated force of more than 35,000 fighters.

Kikil had joined the RSF in August 2023, but later defected to the army.

On Monday, the Sudanese army said that it had recaptured Um Sayala, 200 kilometers north of the provincial capital El-Obeid, following fierce clashes with the RSF.

The rebel group, however, claimed that it had achieved victory over army forces in Um Sayala.

Following the RSF seizure of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, last month, fighting between the rebel group and the Sudanese army spread to new fronts, particularly to the Kordofan region in central and southern Sudan.

The militia controls all five Darfur states, out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including Khartoum.

Darfur makes up about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, but most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.

The conflict in Sudan between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.