Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) say they have opened vital humanitarian corridors and expanded operations south of Khartoum in an effort to break what commanders call an SAF-imposed siege that has trapped millions and deepened famine across the country.
RSF touts “breakthroughs” after army offensive stalls
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces (SAF) declared victory in central Khartoum in March, but analysts say the offensive quickly lost steam despite new hardware supplied by Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. Columns of destroyed armor still litter the capital’s streets.
RSF leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, dismissed the SAF’s claim as “a media parade,” noting that RSF units still control key arteries linking the city to Darfur and the south.
Last week RSF drones struck Port Sudan, the SAF’s provisional seat and main aid port, in what the group described as a measured response to months of aerial bombardment on residential neighborhoods. The SAF blamed the United Arab Emirates for supplying the drones, a charge both Abu Dhabi and the RSF deny.
Dagalo’s forces have since linked up with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North, led by longtime rebel commander Abdel Aziz al-Hilu. The pact, RSF officials say, is designed to secure humanitarian routes from the Nuba Mountains to Ethiopia and relieve civilians cut off by SAF checkpoints.
In Darfur, RSF units have ringed El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, where residents accuse SAF-backed “Joint Forces” militias of blocking food convoys and shelling markets. The RSF says it is allowing safe passage for women and children, urging aid agencies to deliver supplies “without discrimination.”
More than half of Sudan’s 45 million people have fled their homes. U.N. officials warn nearly one million face famine after international funding collapsed to just 13% of this year’s $4.2 billion appeal.
Community-run emergency kitchens—once buoyed by U.S. funding—lost key support after Washington shuttered USAID offices in January. RSF commanders have repeatedly called for a neutral aid mechanism, accusing the SAF of politicizing relief.
Political gridlock
Regional diplomacy remains stalled. An April London conference ended without consensus after Saudi Arabia and the UAE disagreed on a cease-fire formula. The RSF says any future talks must recognize “facts on the ground” and include civilian groups sidelined by Burhan’s military council.
The U.N.’s current roadmap assumes an eventual government battlefield victory and RSF disarmament—conditions Dagalo’s aides call “divorced from reality.” They argue the RSF movement represents marginalized communities neglected since the fall of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
While the RSF insists it will keep open corridors for food, its leaders say a lasting solution requires dismantling what they term “Burhan’s Islamist brigades” and sharing power with regions long excluded from Khartoum politics.
For now, heavy weapons boom across Khartoum and Darfur, and aid shipments trickle through contested checkpoints. As diplomats search for leverage, ordinary Sudanese—many sheltering in makeshift camps—voice a single plea: let the food trucks through before the next harvest fails.
