Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

Force in Play

Lost the El Obeid siege; still controls most of Darfur

For nearly two years, the people of El Obeid lived under a paramilitary siege that cut off food, fuel, and medicine. On July 26, 2026, Sudan's army broke it. Soldiers took the town of Bara and four nearby villages, then seized the full 350-kilometer Al Sadarat highway linking El Obeid to Omdurman.

Updated Jul 27

Force in Play

Controls western Sudan; accused of genocide in El Fasher

The United Nations reopened its Khartoum headquarters Thursday, nearly three years after staff fled when civil war broke out in April 2023. The Sudanese Armed Forces recaptured the capital in March 2025, and more than two million people have since returned.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

Controls most of Darfur; expanding drone capability with UAE-supplied aircraft

Sudan's civil war has entered a new phase defined by drone strikes that hit markets, hospitals, and roads nearly every day. On March 26, two strikes killed at least 28 civilians—22 at a market in Saraf Omra, North Darfur when one hit a parked oil truck, and six along a road in Kordofan. The market strike ignited part of the market, and an infant was among the 22 dead.

Updated May 30