Sudan Army Capture of Sodari Puts RSF on Defensive in North Kordofan
Sudan’s army says it has seized Sodari, the last significant Rapid Support Forces urban stronghold in North Kordofan, after a two-week offensive backed by drone strikes. The advance squeezes RSF positions in the state and could change the balance in a war that has devastated civilians and fractured the country.
The fall of Sodari gives Sudan’s army its biggest battlefield win in North Kordofan in months and leaves the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) scrambling to hold a shrinking slice of territory. Army officials confirmed on 25 September that their forces had captured the town, describing it as the last major RSF urban foothold in the state.
The advance caps a roughly two-week campaign of drone strikes and ground operations pushing south from the towns of Bara and Jabrat al-Sheikh. Military accounts say at least 11 areas were retaken over that period, with army units now only a few kilometres from Al-Mazroub and continuing to drive south toward Khoi. RSF elements are reported to be regrouping around Al-Mazroub and Umm Badr after losing Sodari.
For civilians in North Kordofan, any shift in control brings both immediate risk and a fragile sense of potential respite. Fighting over towns usually means artillery, airstrikes and house-to-house battles that can trap residents without food, water or medical care. A change in which uniformed force runs the checkpoints does not automatically translate into safety, but it can alter whether people face front-line combat or occupation by a faction accused of atrocities elsewhere.
Operationally, Sodari’s capture matters because urban centres give armed groups logistics hubs, recruitment pools and access to transport networks. With Sodari gone, RSF units in North Kordofan lose a key base from which to threaten nearby roads and towns. For the army, control over a contiguous belt of territory from Bara through Sodari opens room to concentrate forces further south instead of constantly defending fragmented pockets.
The broader war has already torn through Sudan’s capital and key regions, displacing millions and hollowing out basic services. Gains in North Kordofan don’t resolve that crisis, but they do shift the map in a state that links the country’s heartland to conflict zones in Darfur and the west. The more ground the army holds there, the harder it becomes for the RSF to move fighters and supplies across central Sudan without being exposed to air and drone strikes.
Strategically, both sides are adapting to a conflict where drones and long-range fire increasingly decide who can mass forces safely. The army’s description of its offensive—drone strikes paving the way for ground advances—reflects that learning curve. The RSF, which has relied heavily on mobility and dispersed columns, now faces a tougher environment in which concentration risks making its units visible and vulnerable.
The larger question is whether territorial gains like Sodari translate into political leverage or simply extend a mutually draining war. Every town taken is a reminder that neither faction has been able to secure a decisive advantage nationwide, even as infrastructure erodes and local economies collapse. For Sudanese trapped between these lines, control of Sodari is less about maps and more about whether there is any path back to functioning markets, schools and clinics.
Next, watch whether the army can consolidate around Sodari without overextending supply lines, and whether RSF forces around Al-Mazroub and Umm Badr stage a counterattack or fall back toward other strongholds. Any move toward ceasefire talks referencing the new frontline in North Kordofan, or signs of outside mediation adjusting to the army’s gains, will show if this victory becomes a pivot in the war or just another costly turn in a grinding campaign.
Sources
- OSINT