Sudanese Army Thwarts RSF Offensive in Blue Nile

(MENAFN) The Sudanese army pushed back an offensive by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), in southeastern Sudan’s Blue Nile state on Sunday, military sources said.

Troops from the army’s 4th Infantry Division, supported by allied units, engaged in heavy clashes after an early-morning attack on al-Silk and Malakan, the sources told media.

According to the sources, Sudanese forces destroyed multiple military vehicles belonging to the attackers. Army personnel later circulated videos on social media showing wrecked and captured RSF vehicles.

Neither the Sudanese military nor the RSF issued any immediate comment.

The confrontation followed Thursday’s airstrikes by Sudanese forces on RSF and SPLM-N positions in Yabus and Balila, also in Blue Nile.

The army maintains control over much of Blue Nile, while the SPLM-N has waged an armed campaign against the central government since 2011, seeking autonomy in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Fighting has escalated across Sudan’s conflict zones. Alongside Darfur, the three Kordofan states have seen intense battles in recent weeks, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF dominates all five in the western Darfur region, except parts of North Darfur still under army control. The military holds most of the remaining 13 states, including the capital, Khartoum.

The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has already killed thousands and displaced millions.

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