The Sudanese Army has reported that it has regained control of the strategic town of Kormuk, in the Blue Nile state, after several weeks of military operations in the area against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies. This offensive is part of the war that began in April 2023 in the African country, a conflict that has placed Sudan in one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet.
In a statement disseminated on social media, the military authorities indicated that "the Armed Forces and their allies have succeeded in liberating Kormuk," emphasizing that their units "fought with strength and determination" in "fierce battles" that "have led to a decisive conclusion" and which translates into the defeat of the RSF on this front.
The military command has stressed that the forces under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as 'Hemedti', and the fighters of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North-Al Hilu (SPLM/N-Al Hilu) have suffered "enormous casualties in lives and equipment," although it has not offered figures on the number of dead or specific data on losses in its own ranks.
Likewise, the Army has assured that the paramilitaries "fled" Kormuk and has insisted that the Armed Forces are committed to "protecting civilians, restoring essential services, and creating the necessary conditions for the return of normal life," objectives that it has defined as "priorities for the next phase" after the recovery of the town.
The RSF and the SPLM-N/Al Hilu had taken Kormuk on March 24, after launching a large-scale offensive in this area near the border with Ethiopia. Following that offensive, the Khartoum government held Addis Ababa responsible for supporting the attacks and responded with a military campaign that allowed it to retake several towns until reaching the "liberation" of this strategically key city.
The armed conflict broke out in April 2023 due to deep disagreements over the integration process of the paramilitary group within the Armed Forces, which derailed the political transition opened after the overthrow of Omar Hassan al-Bashir's regime in 2019. That process was already weakened after the coup that led to the fall of the then-Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok.