The Rapid Support Forces said it repelled an attack by the Sudanese army and allied forces on Abu Qoud, west of El Obeid in North Kordofan, challenging recent claims of a broad army advance across the state.
In a statement issued late Friday, the RSF said army units and allied armed groups attempted to advance on Abu Qoud but were forced back following fighting in the area.
The group said it inflicted losses on the attacking forces and seized weapons and ammunition. The scale of the casualties and battlefield losses could not be independently verified.
The statement represents the RSF’s first significant response to a series of claims by the Sudanese army that its forces have been advancing westwards from El Obeid.
The army said earlier this week that it had captured 11 areas in North Kordofan, including Kajmar, Sharshar, Al-Baniyah Al-Kurayniyah, Al-Qulay’at, Awlad Hazmah, Magwildat, Rayshan, Al-Qaa, Ghabat Al-Laqad, Al-Kukaiti and areas surrounding Al-Mazrub.
Army officials also said their forces were pursuing RSF units towards Darfur and conducting operations across areas west of El Obeid. Those battlefield claims have also not been independently verified.
The latest fighting around Abu Qoud suggests that control of the approaches west of El Obeid remains contested despite claims of rapid territorial gains by the army and its allies.
North Kordofan has become one of the main fronts in Sudan’s war, with both sides seeking control of routes linking central Sudan with West Kordofan and Darfur.
The RSF said its military operations would continue, while the army has separately vowed to press its campaign further west.
Neither side has provided independently verifiable casualty figures from the latest clashes.
