Is Sudan’s battlefield shaping the terms of its next political phase?

What the report says

Sudan’s war appears to be entering a new phase in which military gains and political positioning are increasingly linked, according to Al Jazeera. In a report published on 26 August 2026, the outlet said Sudanese armed forces have recently advanced in North Kordofan, including recapturing several towns and gaining control of a major route that connects Khartoum and Omdurman with el-Obeid. Those developments, Al Jazeera said, have increased pressure on Rapid Support Forces supply lines, even as fighting continues across several parts of the country.

The article also highlighted a rise in RSF defections. Al Jazeera reported that hundreds of people, including officers and commanders, have recently joined or surrendered to the army in different areas. It said the pattern may reflect battlefield pressure, internal strains inside the RSF and local social or tribal dynamics, but stressed that the defections do not yet amount to a collapse of the force.

At the same time, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also leads the Transitional Sovereignty Council, is opening a political track while insisting the war will continue. Al Jazeera reported that he has offered temporary guarantees for participants in a national dialogue and said he would not accept a settlement that returns the RSF and its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to power. Deputy council head Malik Agar gave a similar message, saying negotiations would only be possible if the RSF withdrew from cities and residential areas.

The report suggests that battlefield pressure may now be shaping the terms of future talks, with the army seeking leverage before any broader political process.