EL OBEID – Sudan’s army and the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements said they had taken control of Al-Khoei in West Kordofan on Friday after fighting with the Rapid Support Forces, marking a significant westward advance along a key route toward Al-Nahud and Darfur.
The Joint Force said its forces, operating alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces, also captured Suraif Ankush, Umm Labana, Al-Dawdiya and several surrounding areas.
Its spokesperson, Major Mutawakkil Abuja, said the fighting killed the commander of an RSF force in the area and several fighters.
He said the allied forces destroyed 20 combat vehicles and captured another 40.
The casualty and equipment figures could not be independently verified, and the RSF had not issued an immediate response to the claims.
The advance followed the earlier capture of Suraif Ankush, around 20 kilometres west of Al-Khoei on the road toward Al-Nahud, according to military sources.
Army-allied forces have expanded operations across West Kordofan over the past two weeks after earlier advances from North Kordofan.
They previously announced control of Ayal Bakhit and Umm Marahik around Al-Khoei, while fighting has also been reported around Abu Munayqir and other areas in the northwestern part of the state.
Al-Khoei is strategically important because it lies on routes linking North and West Kordofan and leading farther west toward Darfur.
Control of the town could allow army-allied forces to increase pressure on RSF positions around Al-Nahud, one of the group’s main strongholds in West Kordofan.
The latest developments are part of a broader shift in the Kordofan front after months of fighting in which the army and its allies gradually pushed westward from areas around El Obeid.
