Forces of the Sudanese army are closing in on RSF positions in West Darfur [Getty]
The Sudanese army and its allied forces have advanced to within 70 kilometres of El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) redeployed troops from Kordofan in an effort to defend one of its main strongholds in the western region.
Military sources told The New Arab that RSF units had withdrawn from positions in West Kordofan and moved west towards Darfur following sustained advances by the Sudanese army and the Joint Force of armed movements allied with it on the western front.
According to the sources, the army destroyed the RSF’s forward defensive positions northeast of El Geneina on Tuesday and Wednesday, advancing to within less than 70 kilometres of the city after securing control of the strategic Jebel Moon area.
The sources added that forces allied with the army on the western front had requested additional military support to capture El Geneina, alongside intensified operations across Kordofan to maintain pressure on the RSF and prevent it from regrouping or sending reinforcements into Darfur.
In a separate development, the Sudanese army launched drone strikes against RSF positions in the Umm Sumaymah area of North Kordofan on Wednesday.
The media office of the army’s 142nd Armoured Brigade in El Obeid said military aircraft had inflicted “new and heavy losses” on the RSF’s 113th unit after it attempted to withdraw from Kordofan and redeploy to West Darfur.
The RSF, meanwhile, launched a drone attack targeting cargo trucks parked near a fuel station in the city of Kosti in White Nile state, injuring three people.
The latest advances come after the Sudanese army and allied forces captured the strategic town of Kulbus in West Darfur on Monday following fierce fighting with the RSF and allied militias.
The army subsequently pushed forward on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking control of the strategic Jebel Moon area and entering one of the RSF’s principal strongholds in West Darfur for the first time since the conflict began more than three years ago.
The RSF has controlled all five Darfur states for much of the war, making the latest offensive one of the Sudanese army’s most significant advances in the region since fighting erupted in April 2023.
