During the reference period, the RSF controlled nearly all areas of West Darfur,692 while fighting over Bir Saliba area was reported in August 2026.693 In North and West Darfur, the main SAF-aligned armed groups were SLM-Minnawi and JEM-Ibrahim, which initially operated under the banner of the Darfur Joint Forces before most joined the SAF.694 Other SAF-aligned actors active in West Darfur were Masalit fighters695 and the Popular Resistance,696 while Darfur Arab Militias were aligned with RSF forces.697
- 692
AA, Sudanese group accuses RSF of killings, abuses after entering town in West Darfur, 10 July 2026, url; Sudans Post, Territorial Control Map – Sudan Conflict (as of June 21, 2026) [Map 1], 22 June 2026, url; Sudans Post, Territorial control in Sudan – October 2025 [Map 3], 12 October 2025, url; Soliman, A. and Baldo, S., Gold and the war in Sudan [Map], Chatham House, updated 24 March 2026, url
- 693
Sudan Tribune, Sudanese army allies repel RSF attack in West Darfur, 8 August 2026, url
- 694
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Mapping the Armed Actors in the Sudan Conflict, 7 July 2026, url
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Ayin Network et al., Sudan Conflict Monitor # 17, 23 December 2024, url, p. 5
- 696
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Mapping the Armed Actors in the Sudan Conflict [Map], 7 July 2026, url; AA, More than 6,000 fled Sudan’s West Darfur following RSF threats: UN agency, 2 July 2026, url;
- 697
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Mapping the Armed Actors in the Sudan Conflict, 7 July 2026, url