RSF, SPLM-N escalate drone attacks on Blue Nile border towns

February 27, 2026 (AL-KURMUK) – A military alliance between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has expanded its drone campaign in Sudan’s Blue Nile region, striking the border towns of Geissan and Al-Kurmuk.

An official in the Blue Nile regional government told Sudan Tribune that RSF and SPLM-N drones launched strikes late Thursday on Geissan for the first time. The official said the drones hit a girls’ primary school in Geissan and another school in the nearby village of Khor al-Dahab, though no casualties were reported.

The offensive also targeted Al-Kurmuk, which has faced intermittent drone attacks for a month. The town’s security has deteriorated since the RSF and SPLM-N seized Deim Mansour, a strategic outpost 17 km (11 miles) to the south.

The RSF in Blue Nile operates alongside the SPLM-N faction led by Joseph Touka. Touka’s forces are aligned with the main SPLM-N movement under Abdel Aziz al-Hilu based in South Kordofan.

The escalation comes amid allegations that Ethiopia is facilitating the movement of troops and military equipment into Sudan via Assosa in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. The supplies reportedly pass through Yabus, a long-standing SPLM-N stronghold.

Military analysts view Deim Mansour as a critical gateway. Its capture by the rebel alliance has increased pressure on the Sudanese army’s hold over Al-Kurmuk, a town with a long history of seesaw conflict.

During the 22-year civil war that preceded the 2005 peace deal with the late John Garang’s SPLM, Al-Kurmuk and Geissan were frequent battlegrounds. The SPLM first captured the towns in 1987 before losing them a year later. They seized them again in 1997 before the Sudanese army eventually regained control.

In North Kordofan, witnesses said RSF “suicide” drones attacked the state capital, El Obeid, early Friday. The strikes reportedly focused on the University of Kordofan campus. El Obeid has been under consistent pressure from RSF units stationed to the northeast, south, and west of the city.

Abdel Ati al-Faki, the commissioner of Al-Kurmuk, said Thursday’s drone strikes targeted three residential neighbourhoods. While no lives were lost, Al-Faki said the attacks caused significant damage to the local power station and warned that the resulting panic would likely trigger a fresh wave of displacement.