The Rapid Support Forces said on Tuesday that it had taken control of Bir Seleiba in West Darfur’s Sirba locality following clashes with the Joint Force, an armed coalition allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Field sources said RSF units launched an assault on Bir Seleiba, described as one of the Joint Force’s last remaining positions in northwestern West Darfur.
The area had reportedly been used as a base for military operations along the mountainous zone near Sudan’s border with Chad.
The fighting killed Mahdi Jebel Moon, a senior RSF commander regarded as one of the group’s most prominent field leaders in northwestern Darfur, according to the sources.
Joint Force fighters were also reported killed, although no verified casualty figures were immediately available.
The sources said RSF forces secured the area after the fighting ended. Videos circulated by RSF fighters purported to show them inside Bir Seleiba, with columns of smoke rising nearby. The footage could not be independently verified.
Northwestern West Darfur has witnessed intermittent clashes in recent months between the RSF and the SAF-aligned Joint Force, as both sides compete for control of territory and strategic routes near the Chadian border.
