Kordofan Erupts as Key Battlefield Linking Sudan’s Divided Regions

Fighting in Sudan’s Kordofan region has escalated significantly since late 2025, establishing it as a primary theater in the four-year war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The vast area, encompassing North, West, and South Kordofan, serves as a critical geographic link between the army’s stronghold in central and eastern Sudan and RSF-dominated Darfur to the west. Recently, SAF forces have regained control over substantial portions of North Kordofan.

The nature of the conflict has increasingly shifted to aerial warfare. Drone strikes on towns in North Kordofan have become more frequent and lethal, with civilian infrastructure across the region suffering damage. Since the war began in April 2023, approximately one in five recorded attacks nationwide has occurred within the Kordofan region.

An analysis by Al Jazeera using data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project indicates that 14,648 attacks were recorded between April 15, 2023, and September 19, 2026. Khartoum remains the most affected area with 5,719 attacks, representing 39% of the total. Kordofan collectively follows as a major hotspot, with North, South, and West Kordofan recording 2,876 attacks, or roughly 19.7% of the national total.

In terms of responsibility, the SAF is associated with the largest share of attacks at 52%, while the RSF accounts for 34.7%, and other actors 13.3%. The balance of power in attack frequency has shifted over time; the SAF led in the first 18 months, but the RSF surpassed it from late 2024 to mid-2025. However, since August 2025, the volume of attacks from both sides has declined, though the SAF has maintained a slight edge.

Following the October 2025 fall of el-Fasher, the last major Darfur city held by the army and its allies, military attention pivoted toward Kordofan. Within the region, North Kordofan recorded 1,205 attacks, with the Sheikan locality alone accounting for 497—41% of the state’s total. Sheikan is home to el-Obeid, the state capital and a vital commercial hub connecting central Sudan to the west. Capturing the city would provide the RSF with a direct route eastward toward Khartoum.

The violence has devastated local institutions. On September 9, a drone strike targeted a college in el-Obeid, destroying the roof and killing the dean, Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, and a security guard. Students and staff reported total destruction of the faculty, with one student telling Reuters that the attack symbolized the shattering of their futures.

South Kordofan saw Dilling locality as the primary conflict zone with 242 attacks, while West Kordofan experienced a more distributed pattern of violence across multiple localities. ACLED data attributes at least 12,314 fatalities in Kordofan to the conflict since April 2023. The SAF was linked to 1,323 of these attacks, the RSF to 920, and other groups to 633.

The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen. While the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sudan has dropped from a peak of 11.6 million in January 2025 to approximately 8.6 million due to returns in army-held areas, new displacement is rising in conflict zones. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports a 65% increase in new displacements in Kordofan over a four-month period, rising from 132,000 in February to at least 219,000 by late June 2026.

IOM Director General Amy Pope warned of a looming full-scale invasion threat to el-Obeid, which currently shelters around 500,000 residents, including over 83,000 displaced individuals. Pope highlighted that families are fleeing violence while simultaneously losing access to basic services and facing destructive floods, creating an compounded crisis across the region.