Map | Who controls what in North Kordofan?

KHARTOUM — The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have launched an offensive against remaining Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positions in North Kordofan state, advancing into Sodari and West Barah localities and attacking areas west of the state capital, El Obeid.

The operation began on Thursday, nearly two months after the military’s capture of Bara, Jabrat al-Sheikh and several other towns in late July. Those gains reopened the direct road between El Obeid and the Khartoum region but left RSF units scattered across villages and small desert towns in western and northwestern North Kordofan.

The latest advances have pushed army-aligned forces farther into these rural areas, although the RSF retains important positions in at least three localities. The accompanying Sudans Post map shows army-held territory across much of eastern North Kordofan and remaining RSF positions in the west and south, reflecting the latest advances as the offensive continues.

The operation aims to create a buffer between those remaining positions and the territory captured in July, providing greater protection for El Obeid and the routes connecting it to other army-held areas.

SAF-held areas and latest advances

There are eight localities in North Kordofan. The Sudanese military and its allies from former Darfur rebel movements currently fully control five: Jabra Al-Sheikh, Barah, Um Dam Haj Ahmed, Rahad and Um Ruwaba.

They also control almost all of Sheikan Locality, except for Umm Sumaima, on the border with West Kordofan State; Abu Qa’ud, just west of El-Obeid; and Kazgil, on the border with South Kordofan State.

Before the July advance, RSF control of key areas, including Jabra Al-Sheikh, Barah and Um Dam Haj Ahmed, allowed the paramilitary to threaten El Obeid and disrupt movement along the Al-Sadarat Highway between the state capital and army-held central Sudan.

In West Barah Locality, the Sudanese military now controls nearly half of the territory, with its control extending west from Al-Qa’ah to Um Za’atr, approximately 74 kilometres from the locality’s administrative headquarters, Al-Mazroub.

Farther northwest, the military has advanced toward the centre of Sodari Locality, reaching Tna town. Tna lies approximately 42 kilometres southeast of Sodari, the locality’s administrative headquarters, and about 160 kilometres southeast of Hamrat al-Sheikh, which is close to the border with North Darfur State. These advances have taken army-aligned forces beyond the main towns captured in July.

In a statement on Thursday, the army said it had captured Kajmar, Sharshar, Al-Baniya Al-Kurayniya, Al-Qulai’at, Awlad Hazma, Maquldat, Rishan, Al-Qa’a, Ghabat Al-Laqad and Al-Kukaiti, along with areas around Al-Mazroub. It also reported operations west of El Obeid and said its forces were pursuing retreating RSF fighters.

Geolocated footage places army fighters in Kajmar, Al-Qa’a, Rishan, Sharshar and Kokweti, supporting parts of the military’s account. However, the available visual evidence does not confirm every location listed in the statement, and the army’s claims of heavy RSF losses remain unverified.

Sudans Post has also geolocated a video showing Sudanese military convoy inside Jebel Abu Sinun, located to the northwest of El-Obeid.

RSF positions

In Sodari locality, the RSF still controls the administrative headquarters Sodari town, Umm Badr and Hamrat al-Sheikh. Sudanese military supporters had earlier claimed that the town had fallen, but RSF soldiers later filmed themselves inside the town.

We geolocated theh video to the main entrance of the Sodari Hospital. Based on an additional geolocated footage, Sudans Post can establish that Sudanese mmilitary have however advanced within 40 kilometers of the Sodari town.

Sodari is strategically important because it borders North Darfur to the west and Northern State to the north. The locality covers a large, sparsely populated area, where many smaller villages have limited military significance and no established presence from either side.

In most areas of northwest North Kordofan, settlements are connected by dirt roads and desert tracks, allowing forces to move around the main routes and operate near villages held by their opponents. The limited road network complicates military movement and efforts to establish lasting control, while securing key routes could help the SAF protect its positions elsewhere in Kordofan.

West of El Obeid, Abu Qa’ud and Umm Sumaima remain important RSF positions along the road toward Al-Khuwei in neighbouring West Kordofan. Both have faced repeated attacks by the army and its allies.

On Friday, the RSF said it had repelled an army assault on Abu Qa’ud, claiming to have inflicted losses and captured weapons and ammunition. The statement did not address the army’s reported advances farther north in Sodari Locality, where footage showed elements of the military in several villages named in the military’s statement.

Taking control of Abu Qa’ud and Um Sumaima would remove RSF positions near El Obeid, but holding them would also require the army to protect its supply routes against fighters operating in neighbouring villages and open countryside.

South of El Obeid, Kazgil remains a major RSF position on the road toward South Kordofan. The town gives the paramilitary a continued presence south of the state capital and access to routes connecting the two states.