RSF seizes control of AlNahud

The offensive led to the collapse of Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) defenses, according to multiple sources who spoke to . Videos geolocated by confirmed the RSF’s presence in key government infrastructure, including the locality’s headquarters building.

The RSF began their assault early Thursday, overwhelming SAF defense lines located on the northern and western outskirts of Al-Nahud.

As the SAF withdrew to eastern parts of the city to regroup, the paramilitary continued their advance. Eventually, the SAF completely retreated from Al-Nahud, marking a significant loss for the Sudanese military, sources said.

Al Basha Tabiq, the RSF’s political advisor, announced the takeover in a brief statement on X (Formerly Twitter), calling Al-Nahud the “largest city in West Kordofan.”

He described its capture as a liberation from “Port Sudan gangs” that had previously taken control of the state capital.

“The strategic locality of Al-Nahud, the largest city in West Kordofan state, which had been taken by Port Sudan gangs as the state capital, has been liberated following the liberation of Al-Fula city from the grip of the gangs and militias of the Islamic Movement on Thursday morning, 1/5/2025,” he wrote.

“The brave men are now advancing towards the city of Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, ‘Bride of the Sands,’” he added.

Located along a vital transport corridor connecting Darfur to central Sudan, Al-Nahud holds both logistical and symbolic importance in the ongoing conflict.

Its fall could hamper SAF efforts to march toward Darfur or towards Babanusa, another strategic town in West Kordofan, to relieve their 22^nd infantry division headquarters, which has been under RSF siege since the onset of the war.

The RSF now controls nearly all of West Kordofan, including the capital Al-Fula, which it captured last June.

The only remaining areas outside its control are the besieged army base in Babanusa and the Heglig oilfield on the border with South Sudan. This gives the paramilitary group a significant logistical advantage.

sudanspost.com