Sudanese army-aligned forces have advanced to positions about 40 kilometres from El Geneina in West Darfur, according to military sources, marking renewed pressure on the Rapid Support Forces’ positions around the state capital.
Military sources cited by Independent Arabia on Wednesday said forces fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces, including the Joint Force of Darfur armed movements, were engaged in fighting north of El Geneina after pushing further along the West Darfur front.
The reported advance places army-aligned forces around the Abu Suruj axis, more than 40 kilometres north of the city, following days of clashes across the Bir Saliba and Abu Suruj areas.
The Joint Force earlier said it had taken control of Bir Saliba after heavy fighting with the RSF. Radio Dabanga reported that the force said seven RSF combat vehicles were destroyed during the clashes. Bir Saliba lies roughly 60 kilometres north of El Geneina and close to Sudan’s border with Chad.
The latest movement suggests army-aligned forces are attempting to extend their advance southwards toward El Geneina while increasing pressure on routes linking the city with northern West Darfur and the Chadian border.
El Geneina has remained a major RSF stronghold in western Sudan since the early stages of the war, making developments along its northern approaches strategically significant.
Independent Arabia also reported Sudanese military drone strikes against RSF positions inside El Geneina as fighting intensified on the surrounding front.
The RSF had not publicly confirmed the reported army-aligned advance at the time of publication, and the battlefield claims could not be independently verified.
Control of territory north of El Geneina has repeatedly shifted during months of fighting, with both sides launching attacks and counterattacks around Bir Saliba, Kulbus and other settlements along the Sudan-Chad border corridor.
The latest developments nevertheless indicate that the army and its allied forces are again attempting to push the West Darfur front closer to the state capital after previously concentrating on holding positions farther north.
