Sudan's civil war pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023 after months of tensions between the two sides. Three and a half years on, the war has expanded to 13 of Sudan's 18 states, displaced 14 million people, and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises — and the front line has now shifted to the Kordofan region, the corridor linking Sudan's army-held east with its RSF-held west.
Who is fighting in Sudan?
The war is between two factions of Sudan's former military government. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) is the country's national army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is a paramilitary group that grew out of the Janjaweed militias of the Darfur conflict. Al Jazeera reports that the two leaders fell out over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into Sudan's army, and fighting broke out in Khartoum in April 2023.
Smaller armed groups have joined both sides. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, has aligned its fighters with the RSF and with the RSF-led parallel government in Sudan, holding pockets of territory in the south.
Who controls what?
Sudan is broadly divided between the two sides, Al Jazeera reports. The SAF controls Khartoum and most of the country's north, east and centre, while the RSF controls much of western Sudan, including almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan. South Kordofan remains contested, while the SPLM-N holds pockets of territory in the south.
The balance has changed significantly during the war. The army recovered Khartoum and other areas in central Sudan after suffering major losses early in the conflict. But the RSF's capture of el-Fasher in October 2025 cemented its control over Darfur and shifted the main front eastwards towards the Kordofan region.
Why is Kordofan the central battleground?
Kordofan — comprising North, West and South Kordofan states — lies where the two sides' areas of control meet, between the army-held central region and RSF-controlled Darfur in the west. According to an Al Jazeera analysis of data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), an independent conflict monitor, about 19.7% of all recorded attacks in the war have taken place in Kordofan, putting the region second only to Khartoum.
The fighting there has intensified since late 2025. In the latest advances, the SAF said on Friday that its soldiers had captured the town of al-Mazroub after fierce fighting — described by the army as one of the RSF's most important positions in North Kordofan and a link between army-controlled North Kordofan and West Kordofan, an RSF stronghold. On Saturday, the army announced it had delivered a "knockout blow" to the RSF and the SPLM-N in Blue Nile state, claiming heavy losses inflicted on fighters and equipment. There was no immediate comment from the RSF on either claim.
The RSF, meanwhile, is massing in West Kordofan as the army advances towards the cities of En Nahud and Al Khuway after gains in neighbouring North Kordofan, Al Jazeera reported.
Why won't the war stop?
On Tuesday, al-Burhan promised to seize "every inch" of territory under RSF control, rejecting negotiations to end three and a half years of war. Addressing a gathering in the northern locality of Merowe, he said the "military option" would continue until the RSF was removed from Sudan.
The US is pushing for talks: Massad Boulos, the US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, said peace could be achieved "through an inclusive Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led national dialogue, transition toward a civilian-led government." But the US State Department has said that neither the Sudanese Armed Forces, the RSF, nor their respective leaders "represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan."
Fighting continues regardless. On Tuesday, a local charity group, the Dar Hamar Emergency Committee, said an RSF attack killed 10 civilians and wounded several others in West Kordofan state. The International Organization for Migration said more than 5,500 people were displaced from villages in Blue Nile state over three days amid deteriorating security.
What is the human cost?
The scale of the catastrophe is difficult to overstate:
- About 19.5 million people — more than 40% of the population — were facing acute hunger, while 14 areas in North Darfur, South Darfur and South Kordofan were at risk of famine, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification hunger monitor said in May. About 825,000 children were projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year.
- The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced around 13 to 14 million, according to UN and international estimates cited by Al Jazeera.
- In July, the International Organization for Migration said the number of people newly displaced across Kordofan had risen by nearly two-thirds since February to more than 219,000.
- In September, the Sudanese pound had lost nearly half its value in army-held territory since the beginning of the summer, putting basic goods beyond the reach of many families.
One bright-seeming statistic carries a warning: UNHCR said in an August 2026 assessment that more than 2.5 million people had returned to Khartoum State, against a pre-war population of 9.4 million, with 4.7 million returnees across Sudan. But damaged homes, unemployment, water shortages and persistent security threats are making it hard for families to rebuild: "Field observations indicate that relatively few people have returned to homes which are in an adequate liveable condition," UNHCR said. UNHCR cautioned that its findings were indicative rather than statistically representative.
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Attribution notes: territorial-control and front-line facts come from Al Jazeera's reporting (read via verbatim carriers); the al-Mazroub capture and Blue Nile "knockout blow" are the army's own claims, with no RSF comment in the reporting. The West Kordofan killings are a local charity group's account. Hunger figures are from the UN-backed IPC monitor and IOM via Al Jazeera; returnee figures are UNHCR's own August 2026 assessment. Displaced totals (13–14 million) vary by source and are stated as estimates.
