Sudanese army captures strategic town in North Kordofan

Sudanese army units seized control of Hamrat al-Wiz in the Jabra al-Sheikh locality of North Kordofan state on Sunday, according to military sources who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity. "The armed forces and supporting forces managed to take control of Hamrat al-Wiz in North Kordofan," the sources said. They added that troops continued their advance and fully secured the area while Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries fled, noting that members of the army and allied Joint Force movements posted footage on social media showing soldiers inside the town at its entrance and near the police station.

Strategic significance

Hamrat al-Wiz serves as a commercial hub for agricultural crops and a gathering point for herders, linking eastern and central Sudan with western parts of the country. The town also functions as a forward security point along a major export route, with its capture opening the way toward Um Badr and Sodari in the northern and western parts of North Kordofan respectively. The RSF had issued no immediate comment on the development as of Sunday evening.

Recent advances

The advance follows the army's recapture in late July of Bara and areas in Jabra al-Sheikh and Um Sayala, as well as its securing of the main road connecting Bara with Omdurman west of the capital Khartoum. Sudan's three Kordofan states—North, West and South Kordofan—have witnessed clashes between the army and the RSF since Oct. 25. Sudan has been engulfed in war between the army and the RSF since April 2023, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced around 13 million people according to UN estimates.