Sudanese military and allied forces have repelled two successive Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks in early August in the Bir Saliba region of West Darfur, according to accounts cited by Al Jazeera. Bir Saliba is about 30km north of el-Geneina, the state capital, and is described as the RSF’s last stronghold in the region.
The reported gains follow efforts by government-backed forces to seize crossings and desert routes along Sudan’s border with Chad, targeting RSF supply lines. The developments could shift fighting towards el-Geneina, but the source material does not establish that the city has been captured or that a final battle has begun.
Why Bir Saliba matters
Bir Saliba controls roads linking el-Geneina with northwestern parts of West Darfur, including Jebel Moon and Kulbus, according to West Darfur Governor General Bahr al-Din Adam Karama. Its location makes the area important to movement and supply across the region.
Darfur Regional Governor Minni Arko Minnawi said the Joint Force of the Armed Struggle Movements, a coalition of former Darfur rebel groups fighting alongside the Sudanese army, thwarted an RSF attempt to encircle Bir Saliba. The force moved from north of Kulbus and from the Sileia direction in the Jebel Moon area before attacking the coalition.
Related coverage: Covert documentation of RSF human rights abuses in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Reported battlefield losses and disputed death
Major Mutawakkil Ali Wakil Abu-Ja, spokesman for the Joint Force, said the campaign destroyed more than 38 RSF combat vehicles and captured 27 others. He also said the RSF commander in the sector was killed and that fighters fled the battlefield.
Minnawi announced that Major General Mahdi Adam, known as “Jebel Moon” and described as one of the RSF’s prominent field commanders, was killed in western Sudan. The RSF had not officially confirmed his death when the report was published, so the claim remains unverified by the group.
Pressure beyond West Darfur
Major General Othman Siraj said air strikes on a convoy near the Chad border hit an important RSF supply route and further isolated the paramilitary group. Joint Force representatives said the aim was to take the western part of the region and increase pressure before a battle for el-Geneina.
In North Kordofan, the RSF has increasingly used drones after the army recaptured the strategic route between Omdurman and el-Obeid on July 27, according to SLM/TC spokesman Amin Ishaq Zakaria. The International Organization for Migration reported that the recent escalation displaced more than 6,650 people from 11 villages in the Sirba region. More than 13 million people had already been displaced since the war began in April 2023, according to United Nations estimates.
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