RSF Captures al-Nahud in Pivotal Advance Toward Darfur
Fighting in al-Nahud, a key city in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, has left 19 dead and 37 injured amid escalating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to sources who spoke to Al Jazeera, the RSF declared it had “liberated” the city after driving out government forces on Thursday.
Civilians reported widespread looting of homes, vehicles, and markets following the takeover. Among the victims were a doctor, a journalist, and a police officer. The loss of al-Nahud, which had been under army control since the war began in 2023, marks a strategic blow for SAF and highlights the RSF’s renewed push into Darfur.
Strategic Significance and Shifting Power in Darfur
Al-Nahud’s location makes it a crucial access point to Darfur, placing the RSF in a stronger position to advance toward el-Fasher—the final major city in Darfur still held by the army. Located 400km to the west, el-Fasher has become the RSF’s primary target following their recent expulsion from the national capital, Khartoum.
According to UN figures, at least 542 people have been killed in Darfur over the past three weeks. The RSF’s intensified campaign in the region signals a shift in strategy, redirecting resources from urban warfare in the capital to territorial control in western Sudan.
Meanwhile, ongoing violence in el-Fasher and nearby refugee camps—Zamzam and Abu Shouk—has forced hundreds of thousands to flee across desert terrain toward Tawila, exacerbating Sudan’s already dire humanitarian crisis.
Sudan’s Widening Civil War and International Concern
In a troubling expansion of the conflict, the RSF has also resumed attacks in Khartoum, including a second strike on the presidential palace and bombardment of the army’s General Command headquarters.
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, condemned the increasing death toll and alleged executions by both factions, warning that “the horror unfolding in Sudan knows no bounds.”
The war, now entering its third year, has effectively split Sudan in two. The SAF, under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, maintains control in the north and east, while RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo holds much of Darfur and parts of the south. The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 12 million people.
