Kordofan emerges as Sudan's second-largest conflict zone with 2,876 attacks

October 1, 2026 at 01:23 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region has intensified since late 2025, making it a key battleground between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Al Jazeera analysis of ACLED data shows Kordofan recorded 2,876 attacks between April 15, 2023 and September 19, 2026, second only to Khartoum. The SAF has pushed the RSF out of much of North Kordofan, while drone strikes on towns grow more frequent.

Key Facts

Kordofan recorded 2,876 attacks between April 15, 2023 and September 19, 2026, about 19.7 percent of all recorded attacks in Sudan.
Khartoum saw the most attacks with 5,719, or 39 percent of the total, almost three times as many as North Darfur.
The SAF is associated with 52 percent of recorded attacks, compared with 34.7 percent for the RSF and 13.3 percent for other actors.
North Darfur witnessed 1,999 attacks (13.7 percent) and Gezira state saw 1,435 attacks (9.8 percent).

Control of Territory

Sudan is broadly divided between the SAF, which controls Khartoum and most of the north, east and centre, and the RSF, which controls the west including almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan. Smaller armed groups, including the RSF-allied Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), hold pockets of territory in the south. The army has the upper hand in the north, the RSF in the west, and South Kordofan remains contested.

Attack Distribution

According to Al Jazeera analysis of ACLED data, there were 14,648 recorded attacks between the start of the war on April 15, 2023, and September 19, 2026. Khartoum saw the most attacks with 5,719, or 39 percent of the total, almost three times as many as North Darfur, the second-highest. North Darfur witnessed 1,999 attacks (13.7 percent), Gezira state saw 1,435 attacks (9.8 percent), and Kordofan collectively recorded 2,876 attacks, about 19.7 percent of the total.

Perpetrator Trends

The SAF is associated with the largest share of recorded attacks between April 15, 2023 and September 19, 2026, accounting for just over half (52 percent), compared with just over a third (34.7 percent) for the RSF and 13.3 percent for other actors. The balance of attacks has shifted over time: the SAF was associated with more recorded attacks than the RSF in the first year and a half of the war, before the RSF overtook it in number of attacks from late 2024 to mid-2025.