Sudan army claims capture of RSF stronghold al-Mazroub in North Kordofan

October 2, 2026 at 11:51 PM2 min

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Sudan's army said on Friday it captured al-Mazroub, the largest Rapid Support Forces stronghold in North Kordofan, after fierce battles. The military reported RSF casualties and heavy combat vehicle losses, and urged residents to return to normal life. The seizure advances the army's goal of cutting RSF supply lines between North and West Kordofan.

Key Facts

Sudan's army said on Friday it captured al-Mazroub in North Kordofan after fierce battles with the RSF.
The military reported casualties among RSF forces and heavy combat vehicle losses.
Army Special Forces spokesman Mohammed Deidan said al-Mazroub links North Kordofan and West Kordofan.
The army said seizing al-Mazroub advances its goal of cutting RSF supply lines.
Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region has intensified since late 2025, making it a main battleground in the war now in its fourth year.

The Battle for al-Mazroub

The Sudanese Armed Forces said they took control of al-Mazroub in North Kordofan state following fierce battles with the Rapid Support Forces. A Sudanese army source told Al Jazeera that al-Mazroub was the RSF's largest stronghold in North Kordofan. The military statement on Friday said the battles resulted in casualties among RSF forces and heavy combat vehicle losses. Army Special Forces spokesman Mohammed Deidan told Anadolu that the city links North Kordofan and West Kordofan. Deidan said seizing al-Mazroub advances the army's goal of cutting the RSF's supply lines.

Kordofan Front

Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region has intensified since late 2025, turning it into one of the main battlegrounds in the war between the army and the RSF, now in its fourth year. The vast region comprises North, West and South Kordofan states and lies where the two sides' areas of control meet, between the army-held central region and the RSF-controlled Darfur in the west. Since the war began in April 2023, one in five recorded attacks in Sudan has taken place in Kordofan. The army has the upper hand in the north, the RSF in the west, and South Kordofan remains contested.

Ethnic Friction in South Kordofan

Last month the Sudan Doctors Network accused the RSF-allied Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) of carrying out an artillery attack in the town of Dilling in South Kordofan province. The SPLM-N is a breakaway faction of the SPLM, the governing party of neighbouring South Sudan. Its leader, Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, has aligned his fighters with the RSF and joined ranks with the RSF-led parallel government in Sudan.