RSF seizes Bara, strategic city in North Kordofan

On Monday, March 16, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) units took control of the strategic city of Bara in North Kordofan State following intense clashes with Sudanese army units. The development resulted in the disruption of key supply routes leading to the city of El Obeid.

This advance coincided with some of the fiercest fighting reported in the areas of Tina and Kornoy in North Darfur State, as well as in the city of Dilling in South Kordofan, amid a wave of mass displacement as civilians fled the escalating violence.

Field reports indicate that RSF forces launched a coordinated, multi-axis offensive to seize Bara, given its strategic position linking Khartoum to Darfur. Meanwhile, heavy battles are ongoing in Tina, near the border with Chad, over control of humanitarian and commercial crossings.

Local sources reported that Dilling is witnessing three-sided clashes involving the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), further complicating the military and humanitarian situation in the region.

Historically, the fighting in Tina and Kornoy marks a return of conflict to areas long considered strongholds of armed movements in Darfur, which have experienced severe humanitarian crises since 2003. The expansion of hostilities into North and South Kordofan in 2026 reflects a broader war strategy that began in April 2023, evolving from a power struggle in Khartoum into regionally fragmented confrontations across Sudan.

The immediate impact of these developments includes a near-total collapse of basic services in Bara and Dilling, alongside disruptions to food and medical supply chains from eastern ports to western Sudan. Fighting in Tina also threatens to halt cross-border humanitarian aid flows, placing hundreds of thousands of displaced people at risk of imminent famine, as warned in United Nations reports describing the situation in Kordofan and Darfur as catastrophic.

Looking ahead, RSF control of Bara could pave the way for a prolonged siege of El Obeid, a key stronghold of the Sudanese army in Kordofan. Meanwhile, continued fighting in Kornoy and Tina raises the likelihood of further internationalization of the conflict via the Chadian border. The persistence of these military dynamics, in the absence of a viable political resolution through the Jeddah platform or African-led initiatives, risks turning Sudan into a prolonged conflict zone with destabilizing consequences for the wider region.