Sudan’s army says it captured RSF stronghold in North Kordofan

What the report says

Sudan’s armed forces say they have taken control of al-Mazroub in North Kordofan after heavy fighting with the Rapid Support Forces, a development Al Jazeera reported on 2 October 2026. According to the army’s statement, the battle caused losses among RSF fighters and damaged combat vehicles. A military source quoted by Al Jazeera said al-Mazroub was the RSF’s largest base in that part of North Kordofan.

The army says the capture is important because the town connects North Kordofan and West Kordofan, and could help it disrupt RSF supply routes. Army Special Forces spokesman Mohammed Deidan, speaking to Anadolu, said the advance fits the military’s wider aim of cutting off the paramilitary group’s logistics. The army also urged residents in areas it described as liberated to return to normal life.

The fighting comes as Sudan’s war, which began in April 2023, has increasingly centered on the Kordofan region. Al Jazeera noted that the area sits between army-held territory in the center and RSF-controlled Darfur in the west, making it a strategic corridor for both sides. The report also said Kordofan has seen a growing share of attacks since the conflict escalated in late 2025.

More broadly, the conflict remains fragmented, with the army stronger in the north of Kordofan, the RSF in the west, and South Kordofan still contested. Al Jazeera also referenced tensions involving RSF-aligned groups in the south, underscoring how the war continues to overlap with local and ethnic rivalries.