The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Thursday morning captured the capital of Um Kadada locality in North Darfur State, where the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) had stationed its 24th Infantry Brigade of the besieged 6th Infantry Division headquartered in the state capital, El Fasher.
The town is located approximately 142 kilometers east of El Fasher, and the 24th brigade marks the second military garrison to fall to the RSF in North Darfur in less than a month. In mid-March, the RSF captured Al Maliha , a strategic location where the military had bases for the Joint Forces, the Central Reserve Police, and local allied militias, including the armed popular resistance.
The capture of Um Kadada follows recent statements by the RSF’s deputy commander, Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, who declared the mobilization of over 20,000 fighters to extend the conflict into northern Sudanese states, areas that are home to the country’s ruling elites.
The RSF’s control over the strategically important garrison was confirmed through videos analyzed and geolocated by Sudan War Monitor. The videos show RSF combatants filming both inside and outside the headquarters of the Brigade as well as inside the headquarters of the locality in Um Kadada.
The town is situated along the Inqaz Al-Gharbi highway, a crucial route linking the Darfur region to North Kordofan and the capital, Khartoum. This victory significantly bolsters the RSF’s position in Darfur, where the group has held a dominant military presence since the onset of the conflict.
In the afternoon, local militias aligned with the Sudanese military briefly recaptured the town, but the paramilitary group arrived around 5:00 PM local time to regain control, according to sources.
The RSF, in a statement described the capture as a “decisive” victory, targeting not only the Sudanese army but also what they called “affiliated mercenary groups.” The group claimed that their forces had killed hundreds of Sudanese soldiers during the dawn assault on Thursday.
“The Rapid Support Forces have continued their victories on multiple fronts, and today, Thursday, our brave forces achieved a major victory by liberating Brigade 24 (Um Kadada), part of the Sixth Division in North Darfur, from the grip of the terrorist army and its affiliated mercenary groups. Our forces have established full control over the strategic locality of Um Kadada.
“Our heroes fought a decisive battle, demonstrating rare courage and unparalleled heroism, which ended with the complete liberation of the strategic city of Um Kadada. They seized combat vehicles with their full equipment, along with various weapons and ammunition that were in the enemy’s possession.
“The battle resulted in the death of hundreds of enemy fighters, while the remaining forces fled, and our troops are still in pursuit of their fleeing remnants.
“We confirm the continued progress of our forces with determination until complete liberation, the overthrow of the remnants of the former regime, and the dismantling of the ‘Port Sudan Gang.’ We aim to establish justice and build Sudan on new and fair foundations,” they said in the statement.
The RSF's growing control in the Darfur region comes in the wake of a military defeat in Khartoum in March, where the group lost significant ground to the Sudanese army. Despite these setbacks in the central Sudan region, the RSF controls much of Darfur, including key strategic areas in El Geneina, Nyala, El Daen, Zalingei, among others.
Um Kadada, like others that have fallen to the RSF, was vital to Sudan's military operations that aim at retaking the region from the paramilitary group.
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