Sudan joint force says it retook West Kordofan town from RSF after fierce battle

May 13, 2025 (AL-KHUWAYY) – A Sudanese joint armed force said on Tuesday it had retaken the town of Al-Khuwayy in West Kordofan state from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after about nine hours of fierce fighting.

Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, a spokesperson for the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements, said in a statement its fighters lured the RSF into a “well-executed ambush, where the battlefield turned into a mass grave for its elements.”

He said the force captured 80 vehicles in good condition and destroyed 43 other military vehicles. More than 800 RSF fighters, including foreign mercenaries, were killed, Mustafa added. The battle lasted nine hours, the spokesperson confirmed.

However, eyewitnesses and military sources earlier told the Sudan Tribune that the RSF had initially launched an attack and taken control of Al-Khuwayy after fierce battles. This prompted an army withdrawal to the Umm Samima area, between Al-Khuwayy and Al-Ubayyid in North Kordofan, the sources said.

The sources added that the army, the joint force, and other allied forces then regrouped and launched a heavy counter-attack on Al-Khuwayy. After violent confrontations, the remaining RSF elements withdrew to the town’s outskirts.

The army and its allies recaptured Al-Khuwayy in the evening, the Sudan Tribune sources said. Members of the joint force later broadcast a video clip showing them in front of the town’s police station.

The RSF has been attempting to obstruct the advance of a military coalition known as the ‘Al-Sayyad’ or ‘Hunter’ mobile group, which includes army forces and their allies. The paramilitary group had recaptured several towns in North Kordofan before advancing to Al-Khuwayy two days ago.

The report added that the Al-Sayyad group aims to retake Al-Nuhud and use it as a staging point to attack RSF-controlled areas in West Kordofan or to lift the siege on Al-Fashir in North Darfur.