Territorial control map – Sudan Conflict (as of April 27, 2026)

KHARTOUM – Three years into Sudan’s war, front lines have largely hardened into a de facto partition, with neither the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) nor the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) able to secure a decisive breakthrough. This map illustrates the current distribution of territorial control across Sudan as of April 2026, based on available field reporting and geolocation analysis.

In central and eastern Sudan, the SAF retains control over most territory, including the capital, Khartoum, and key urban corridors extending through Al-Jazirah toward the Red Sea. Strategic cities such as Port Sudan, Kassala, Al-Qadarif, and Wad Madani remain under army authority, forming the core of its administrative and logistical network.

In Blue Nile State, the SAF controls most areas, except for Kurmuk locality, where a joint RSF–SPLM-North presence dominates, with the exception of northern pockets such as Dindiro.

In Darfur, the RSF has consolidated control over nearly the entire region. The main exception lies in the far northwest, in Zaghawa-dominated areas including Tina, most of Kornoi, and parts of Ambaro localities, where anti-RSF forces of former Darfur rebels aligned with the SAF maintain a foothold.

Meanwhile, the Sudan Liberation Army (Abdel Wahid faction) led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur as well as other neutral forces controls Jebel Marra and surrounding areas such as Tawila, maintaining a largely independent position.

In Kordofan, control is fragmented. In North Kordofan, the SAF controls most of the state, including El-Obeid, but RSF remain present in key localities including Bara, Jabra al-Sheikh, Umm Dam, and parts of western and northwestern Sheikan.

In South Kordofan, the SPLM-North (al-Hilu faction) controls areas east of Kadugli and southeast of Dilling. RSF and SPLM-N elements jointly control parts of the Dilling hinterland, including Al-Fiu, while the SAF maintains positions in other pockets, particularly around major towns including Habila which they controls. The road Dilling Kadugli road is cut by the RSF, while occasional army relief forces have continued to use the Habila-Dilling road for reinforcement.

In the Northern region, the SAF dominates populated areas along the Nile (such as -Al-Damar, Atbara, Dongola and Al-Daba), while the RSF maintains a foothold in remote desert zones. This includes positions in the tri-border area between Sudan, Egypt, and Libya, as well as the so-called “Chevrolet” base located at Karb al-Tom.

In the disputed Abyei area, RSF forces hold the northern sector, from the Amiet (Al-Na’am) market area northward to the Sudanese line, while the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) controls the southern corridor from Abyei town to Agok (Aneet) along the South Sudan border. The SSPDF also controls Majok Yiththiou, an area administratively linked to Northern Bahr el Ghazal but geographically situated within Sudan’s West Kordofan.

Overall, the conflict has shifted into a phase of entrenched territorial control, with localized fronts and multiple armed actors holding defensible positions rather than pursuing rapid advances.