Sudan: RSF Says It Captures Key Sudan Town Near Ethiopian Border As Army Withdraws

Addis Abeba — Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied fighters have advanced into Al Kurmuk, a strategically important town in Blue Nile State bordering Ethiopia, according to reports by Al Jazeera and The National. Military and government sources told Al Jazeera on Thursday that RSF fighters and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) entered the town as Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) troops withdrew and repositioned outside Kurmuk. The RSF separately claimed it had inflicted heavy losses on the army and seized weapons and ammunition. The RSF said in a statement that its fighters had captured Al Kurmuk after forcing SAF troops out of the town. The National reported that the group described the seizure as its second territorial gain in Blue Nile State this week, following the reported capture of Qayssan on Tuesday. Local authorities in Kurmuk said the town had come under intensive attacks for three days involving drones and artillery shelling. The administration said the attacks originated from "the regional neighbourhood" but maintained that the army continued to defend the town, its residents and public institutions. Al Kurmuk's location gives the latest fighting particular significance for Ethiopia. The town lies on an important cross-border route linking Sudan's Blue Nile region with Ethiopia and is also relatively close to South Sudan. It is located less than 140km from Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile State, and about 160km from the Roseires Dam, a major source of electricity for Sudan, according to The National. The town has changed hands during the conflict. The RSF seized Kurmuk in March before the SAF recaptured it last month. The latest advance comes as the two sides continue to contest strategic positions across Sudan. Sudan's army-aligned government has repeatedly accused the RSF of launching attacks from Ethiopian territory. Blue Nile State has emerged as an increasingly important front in Sudan's war, with the RSF conducting ground offensives and intensifying drone attacks in an effort to challenge army control in the southeast. The army said on 10 July that it had repelled an attack on the areas of Dim Saad and Yara in the Geissan district. The Sudanese army controls large parts of Blue Nile State, while the SPLM-N has fought the government since 2011, seeking greater autonomy for South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The RSF and the Sudanese army have been fighting since April 2023 over the planned integration of the paramilitary force into the national military. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced around 13 million, according to humanitarian agencies, creating one of the world's largest displacement and humanitarian crises.