During the reference period, territorial control maps depicted Kassala state as continuously under SAF control.1234 A map provided by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies showed Kassala state under complete control of the SAF as of the start of July 2026 along with the presence of allied armed groups such as the Sudan Shield Forces (SSF), the Sudanese Popular Resistance/Mustanfareen, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade.1235 Furthermore, several tribal militias allied with the SAF reportedly operated in Red Sea, Gedaref and Kassala states.1236 In February 2026, five SAF-allied armed groups, among them the Beja Congress, the East Sudan Liberation Movement and the National Movement for Justice and Development in East Sudan announced their alliance called Federal Alliance of Eastern Sudan Forces in Kassala city.1237 Some of these groups reportedly returned from Eritrea where they had received military training.1238
- 1234
Sudans Post, Territorial control map – Sudan Conflict (as of May 10, 2026) [Map], 10 May 2026, url; Sudans Post, Territorial control in Sudan – October 2025 [Map 2], 12 October 2025, url; Soliman, A. and Baldo, S., Gold and the war in Sudan [Map], Chatham House, updated 24 March 2026, url
- 1235
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Mapping the Armed Actors in the Sudan Conflict [Map], 7 July 2026, url
- 1236
Abdelrahman, E. E. and STPT, Regional and international dimensions of conflicts in eastern Sudan, 11 August 2025, url, pp. 23-24
- 1237
Dabanga, تحالف يضم خمس حركات مسلحة يدشن أنشطته في شرق السودان [Alliance including five armed movements launches its activities in eastern Sudan], 26 February 2026, url
- 1238
Dabanga, عودة وشيكة لحركات شرق السودان من إرتريا وسط تنامي الاحتجاجات [Imminent return of Eastern Sudan movements from Eritrea amid growing protests], 16 March 2026, url