Clashes erupt in Sudan’s Blue Nile as rebel alliance advances toward Ed Damazin

September 4, 2026 (ED DAMAZIN) – Heavy fighting erupted on Friday in Sudan’s Blue Nile state between the Sudanese armed forces and an alliance of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, as the rebel coalition threatened to advance on the regional capital, Ed Damazin.

The local administration in Kurmuk said military forces and allied fighters repelled a dawn assault by the RSF-SPLM-N coalition, led by Joseph Touka, in the al-Baraka district of Kurmuk locality.

The local authority said government troops inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers and destroyed several combat vehicles, forcing the remaining fighters to withdraw. The claims could not be independently verified.

Military reinforcements, including elements of the Darfur Joint Force, arrived in Ed Damazin from Khartoum, Gezira, and Sennar states after the alliance seized the Bakori base in Geisan and the Sarkam base in Kurmuk.

Fighting in Blue Nile, situated in south-eastern Sudan along the Ethiopian border, has escalated sharply since February, enabling the alliance to take control of the towns of Kurmuk and Geisan.

Army air defences also intercepted one-way attack drones launched by the RSF targeting Ed Damazin on Friday morning, military sources said.

Joseph Touka, first deputy chairman of the SPLM-N faction allied with the RSF, said Ed Damazin was now exposed and within striking distance of their fighters.

Touka said in an interview published on the group’s official website that the coalition was widening its territorial control to encircle and wear down government troops.

He added that the capture of Kurmuk, near the borders with Ethiopia and South Sudan, alongside Geisan, near the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, gave the alliance strategic advantages.

The seizure of Sarkam and Bakori, the former headquarters of the army’s 13th Infantry Brigade, positioned rebel fighters on the approach to Ed Damazin, Touka said.