Territorial control map – Sudan Conflict (as of May 10, 2026)

KHARTOUM – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) retook the strategic military garrison at Al-Keili in southern Blue Nile State on Friday, marking the first major reversal of recent territorial gains made by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) along the Kurmuk–Damazin axis.

The recapture of Al-Keili has resulted in a small but significant change to the territorial control map as of May 10, 2026. While the broader lines of the conflict remain largely entrenched in a de facto partition, the recovery of this garrison is the only major shift in territorial control since late April.

In Blue Nile State, the SAF continues to control most areas except for Kurmuk locality, where a joint RSF–SPLM-North presence dominates, particularly in the locality headquarters Kurmuk and areas to the south along the border with Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The retaking of Al-Keili effectively blunts the rebel push northward from the Ethiopian frontier toward the regional hub of Damazin.

Across the rest of the country, the map remains largely unchanged from late April. In central and eastern Sudan, the SAF retains control over most territory, including Khartoum and key urban corridors extending toward the Red Sea.

Strategic cities such as Port Sudan, Kassala, Al-Qadarif, and Wad Madani remain under army authority.

In Darfur, the RSF has consolidated control over nearly the entire region, except for Zaghawa-dominated areas in the far northwest where anti-RSF forces maintain a foothold, while the Sudan Liberation Army (Abdel Wahid faction) maintains an independent position in Jebel Marra.

In Kordofan, control remains fragmented with the SAF holding El-Obeid and Habila, while RSF and SPLM-North elements control various rural localities and the Dilling-Kadugli road. In the Northern region, the SAF dominates populated areas along the Nile while the RSF maintains outposts in remote desert zones and the tri-border area.

In the disputed Abyei region, RSF forces hold the northern sector while the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) control the southern corridor. Overall, the conflict has shifted into a phase of entrenched territorial control, with the recapture of Al-Keili standing as the sole recent exception to a generally frozen frontline.