Sudan’s army says it captured RSF stronghold in North Kordofan

Sudanese Armed Forces reportedly retake al-Mazroub, advancing the army’s goal of cutting the RSF’s supply lines.

Sudanese soldiers have been fighting the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group since April 2023 [File: AP]

The Sudanese Armed Forces say they have taken control of al-Mazroub in North Kordofan state following fierce battles with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), marking a significant gain in one of the war’s main battlegrounds .

In a statement on Friday, the military said fierce battles resulted in casualties among the paramilitary RSF forces, as well as heavy combat vehicle losses.

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“The Armed Forces urge citizens in the liberated areas to rest assured and return to their normal lives,” the statement added.

A Sudanese army source told Al Jazeera that al-Mazroub was the RSF’s largest stronghold in North Kordofan.

Army Special Forces spokesman Mohammed Deidan told the Anadolu news agency that the city links the states of North Kordofan and West Kordofan and that, by seizing it, the army was advancing its goal of cutting the RSF’s supply lines.

Fighting in Sudan’s Kordofan region has intensified since late 2025, turning it into one of the main battlegrounds in the war between the army and the RSF, now in its fourth year.

The vast region – which comprises North, West and South Kordofan states – lies where the two sides’ areas of control meet, between the army-held central region and the RSF-controlled Darfur in the West.

Since the war began in April 2023, one in five recorded attacks in Sudan has taken place in Kordofan.

The army has the upper hand in the north, the RSF in the west, and South Kordofan remains contested.

Adding another layer of ethnic friction to the country’s wider civil war, last month the Sudan Doctors Network accused the RSF-allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) of carrying out the artillery attack in the town of Dilling, in the South Kordofan province.

The SPLM-N is a breakaway faction of the SPLM, the governing party of neighbouring South Sudan. Its leader, Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, has aligned his fighters with the RSF and joined ranks with the RSF-led parallel government in Sudan.

据报道，苏丹武装部队重新夺回了马兹鲁布，推进了军队切断快速支援部队补给线的目标。

自 2023 年 4 月以来，苏丹士兵一直在与快速支援部队准军事组织作战。[图片：美联社]

苏丹武装部队表示，经过与快速支援部队（RSF）的激烈战斗，他们已经控制了北科尔多凡州的马兹鲁布，这标志着在战争的主要战场之一取得了重大进展。

军方周五发表声明称，激烈的战斗导致准军事快速支援部队（RSF）人员伤亡，以及大量作战车辆损失。

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声明还表示：“武装部队敦促解放区民众放心，恢复正常生活。”

一位苏丹军方消息人士告诉半岛电视台，马兹鲁布是快速支援部队在北科尔多凡州最大的据点。

陆军特种部队发言人穆罕默德·戴丹告诉阿纳多卢通讯社，该市连接北科尔多凡州和西科尔多凡州，通过占领该市，陆军正在推进其切断快速支援部队补给线的目标。

自 2025 年底以来，苏丹科尔多凡地区的战斗愈演愈烈，使其成为军队与快速支援部队之间战争的主要战场之一，这场战争目前已进入第四年。

这个幅员辽阔的地区——包括北科尔多凡州、西科尔多凡州和南科尔多凡州——位于交战双方控制区的交界处，介于军队控制的中部地区和快速支援部队控制的西部达尔富尔地区之间。

自 2023 年 4 月战争爆发以来，苏丹记录在案的五分之一袭击事件发生在科尔多凡州。

军队在北部占据优势，快速支援部队在西部占据优势，南科尔多凡州仍处于争夺之中。

上个月，苏丹医生网络指责与快速支援部队结盟的苏丹人民解放运动北方局（SPLM-N）在南科尔多凡省迪林镇发动炮击，这给该国更广泛的内战又增添了一层种族摩擦。

苏丹人民解放运动北方派（SPLM-N）是苏丹人民解放运动（SPLM）的一个分裂派别，而苏丹人民解放运动是邻国南苏丹的执政党。其领导人阿卜杜勒·阿齐兹·希卢已将其武装人员与快速支援部队（RSF）结盟，并加入了由快速支援部队领导的苏丹平行政府。