UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of the strategic town of Kika Al Khayl in Sudan’s South Kordofan state after units of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied militias withdrew from their positions, local sources and analysts report, in a move that deepens RSF’s advance across the Kordofan region.
Residents and military sources say SAF troops and allied forces pulled back from Kika Al Khayl overnight after days of mounting pressure and stretched supply lines, allowing RSF fighters to move in with little resistance and raise their flag over key administrative and military sites. The withdrawal follows a broader pattern of SAF repositioning in Kordofan after earlier losses in nearby hubs, where RSF advances have threatened army logistics and exposed front lines to encirclement.
Kika Al Khayl lies on routes linking South Kordofan’s contested rural areas with larger centers, giving its new RSF rulers leverage over local trade, population movements and potential future offensives toward other SAF-held pockets. Control of towns like Kika Al Khayl has become critical as both sides rush to secure territory ahead of any renewed ceasefire talks, amid warnings that Kordofan’s fragmentation could entrench a de facto partition of Sudan.
Diplomatic tensions are also likely to sharpen, as SAF and its supporters again accuse the United Arab Emirates of materially backing RSF’s campaign, a charge Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied even as international pressure grows for sanctions and an arms embargo. Humanitarian organizations warn that each new RSF gain in Kordofan risks fresh displacement, access restrictions and abuses against civilians trapped between shifting front lines and competing armed groups.
