Heavy fighting rocks Sudan’s Kordofan as army advances, RSF reinforces

September 15, 2025 (EL OBEID) – Heavy clashes shook Sudan’s North Kordofan state on Monday as the army pressed an offensive and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) deployed major reinforcements to the region, with both sides claiming battlefield gains.

The escalation threatens to intensify the conflict in the strategic Kordofan region, which links the capital Khartoum to the war-torn Darfur region. The RSF has brought in unprecedented reinforcements from Darfur and parts of West Kordofan, led by prominent commanders Ali Rizqallah “Savana” and Al-Nur Al-Qubba, according to military sources.

Fighting has raged for four days in areas south of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. The RSF stated in a press release that it had seized the areas of Kazgeil and Al-Riash, forcing the army to retreat.

An army field commander, however, denied the claim in comments to Sudan Tribune, insisting his forces remained in control and were determined to advance. The two areas, which sit on a key border between North and South Kordofan, have changed hands repeatedly since June.

The army’s operations aim to open the national highway to South Kordofan to break a months-long siege on the army-held cities of Kadugli and Dilling, which are encircled by the RSF and its ally, the SPLM-N faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

On Monday evening, the army unleashed its heaviest artillery barrage in months from its positions inside El Obeid, targeting RSF positions south and west of the city.

The offensive is part of a broader army campaign resumed over a week ago to clear the RSF from Kordofan, with the ultimate goal of pushing west to break the year-long siege of the army’s garrison in El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital.

The push comes after the army recaptured the town of Bara in North Kordofan on September 11, which had been under RSF control since the early months of the war.