RSF offensive on Sudan’s Tine displaces hundreds of civilians
February 23, 2026 (TINE, North Darfur) – More than 400 families have fled the Sudanese border town of Tine following a surge in fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), activists said on Monday, as neighbouring Chad moved to seal its frontier.
The RSF has launched a series of large-scale assaults since February 21 on Tine, one of the final military strongholds in North Darfur state still held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its allied former rebel groups.
The escalation prompted the Chadian government to officially announce the closure of its border with Sudan on Monday. N’Djamena cited “repeated incursions” by warring Sudanese factions into Chadian territory as the reason for the move.
The Chadian government said the decision was intended to protect its citizens and the vast refugee population in the area, though it noted that some border points would remain open for authorized humanitarian operations.
Local activists from the North Darfur Emergency Rooms Coordination Council said the newly displaced families have joined thousands of others already sheltering in valleys and makeshift camps along the frontier.
The council reported that roughly 2,000 families are currently living in informal shelters near the border, with another 500 families in the Hamra area. It described a “massive pressure” on limited resources and a near-total absence of basic services.
“Field reports indicate that thousands of families, particularly women and children, are living in extremely complex humanitarian conditions,” the council said in a statement, calling for urgent international intervention.
The group added that the timing of the attacks during the holy month of Ramadan has doubled the suffering of civilians and urged the creation of safe corridors for aid delivery.
The fighting in the border region has increasingly taken on an ethnic character. The local population in Tine and the surrounding areas shares deep tribal and family ties that span both sides of the Sudan-Chad border.
Tine is considered a critical strategic prize in the conflict, serving as a primary trade and humanitarian gateway between Darfur and eastern Chad.