In December 2023, Al Jazirah state fell to the RSF and the SAF withdrew from the state capital Wad Madani, only keeping a limited presence in the western periphery of the state towards Gedaref and Sennar. In March 2024, ACLED described the state as a ‘conflict hotspot’, where the RSF tried to prevent the SAF from advancing towards Khartoum.851 The RSF's control over the state was marked by numerous reports of attacks on villages and looting,852 as well as killings among the local population.853 Ayin Network between February and October 2024 recorded over 130 RSF invasions of localities in Al Jazirah, with ensuing violence affecting civilians including killings, torture, looting, and in some cases rape.854
On 20 October 2024, Abu Aqla Keikel, an RSF commander, defected and joined the SAF, reportedly in exchange for an amnesty.855 This led to an uptick in RSF attacks on villages in Al Jazirah, targeting members of Keikel’s ethnic group in an apparent retaliation for his defection.856 Between 20 and 25 October, the RSF reportedly carried out major attacks across the state, committing mass killings, sexual violence against women and girls, and looting of markets and homes.857 According to Human Rights Watch, at least 30 towns and villages were attacked, including Rufaa, Tamboul, Al-Sireha, and Azrag, pointing out that this number was probably an underestimation of the reality on the ground.858
Over the course of 2024, the SAF led several offensives to recapture the state,859 recapturing some areas in the south of the state,860 with clashes ongoing as of December 2024, including near the state capital Wad Madani861 and Umm Al-Qura locality.862
In June 2024, the RSF rapidly advanced into Sennar state,863 taking control of the capital Sinja late that month, as well as other localities including Abu Hajar and Dinder.864 The RSF also seized the strategically important Jebel Moya mountain range overlooking Sennar city.865 By July 2024, much of Sennar state had been taken over by the RSF866 and their advance slowed down due to seasonal rains and the movement of some of their troops to White Nile.867 The RSF was accused of attacks on civilians in Sennar, among them indiscriminate shootings of villagers and attempted abduction and sexual violence targeting women in Galgani village in August868 and the shelling of a crowded market in Sennar city in September 2024869 as well as the killing of at least 15 civilians south of Abu Hajar that same month.870
In October 2024, the SAF launched a military operation to recapture areas of Sennar state, managing to reclaim Dinder and Suki.871 The army further managed to retake Jebel Moya, going into the offensive for the first time in months, according to a political analyst.872 As of November 2024, Sinja was described as the last major RSF stronghold in Sennar state,873 with the RSF cut off from troops in neighbouring Al Jazirah and White Nile states.874 At the beginning of December 2024, the SAF had managed to retake most towns in Sennar state, including its capital Sinja.875
Conflict broke out in Blue Nile in July 2023, when the rebel group SPLM-N clashed with army forces around Al-Kurmuk,876 with the army reportedly repelling the attack with artillery and air support, followed by a period of relative calm lasting into spring 2024.877 In August 2024, the RSF began expanding its military attacks into Blue Nile state,878 moving from neighbouring Sennar into the Tadamun area and clashing with SAF forces around Qali.879 Even though this attack was initially repelled, the Damazin resistance committee stated that the RSF later returned to raid the area.880 While the RSF initially advanced further in September 2024, taking the town of Roro, they later withdrew and joined their main forces stationed in Sennar state. As of November 2024, however, the RSF reported to have made some advances again, confirming their presence around 70 km from the state capital Damazin.881
The RSF expanded into White Nile state from October 2023,882 using their base in Jebel Awliya 40 km south of Khartoum to push into White Nile. After the takeover of Jebel Awliya by the RSF in November 2023,883 the RSF seized parts of northern White Nile, pushing the SAF to retreat further south to the large urban centres of the state. While there were occasional reports of clashes and raids by the conflict parties, the frontlines had reportedly remained static as of November 2024.884 In November 2024, local media reported several instances of RSF attacks on villages in White Nile, such as the looting of villages in the Umm Rimta locality885 and the killing of civilians.886 RSF troops reportedly employed hit-and-run tactics, carrying out raids in smaller groups to loot localities and intimidate residents and, subsequently, withdrawing to Jebel Awliya base.887
- 851
ACLED, Sudan: Escalating Conflict in Khartoum and Attacks on Civilians in al-Jazirah and South Kordofan, 15 March 2024, url
- 852
Al Jazeera, Dozens killed by paramilitary RSF in Sudan’s Gezira, aid groups say, 26 October 2024, url; ACLED, Sudan: Escalating Conflict in Khartoum and Attacks on Civilians in al-Jazirah and South Kordofan, 15 March 2024, url
- 853
Sudan Tribune, RSF forces army retreat in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state, 5 December 2024, url; AA, 42 dead in attack by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces on village, 22 November 2024, url; HRW, Sudan: Rapid Support Forces Target Civilians, 10 November 2024, url; Al Jazeera, Dozens killed by paramilitary RSF in Sudan’s Gezira, aid groups say, 26 October 2024, url; New Arab (The), Sudan's Wad al-Noura families speak of RFP's carnage, intentional targeting children, 18 June 2024, url
- 854
Ayin Network, Al-Jazeera: Over 130 villages invaded by RSF, 19 November 2024, url
- 855
ACLED, Defection and violence against civilians in Sudan’s al-Jazirah state, 18 November 2024, url; Mada Masr, قائد «الدعم السريع» بالجزيرة ينضم للجيش في صفقة تضمنت العفو عنه [RSF commander in Al Jazirah joins army in a deal that includes amnesty for him], 20 October 2024, url
- 856
OHCHR, Sudan: Escalating violence in Al-Jazirah, 29 October 2024, url
- 857
HRW, Sudan: Rapid Support Forces Target Civilians, 10 November 2024, url; OHCHR, Sudan: Escalating violence in Al-Jazirah, 29 October 2024, url; BBC News, New wave of mass killings in Sudan alarms UN, 27 October 2024, url
- 858
HRW, Sudan: Rapid Support Forces Target Civilians, 10 November 2024, url
- 859
Sudan War Monitor, Offensive closes in on Wad Madani, 3 December 2024, url; Sudan Tribune, Sudanese army launches offensive to recapture key states, 18 October 2024, url; Ayin Network et al., Sudan Conflict Monitor # 13, 23 May 2024, url, p. 3
- 860
Sudan Tribune, Sudanese army repels RSF attack in Blue Nile, retakes key town in Al Jazirah, 7 December 2024, url
- 861
Sudan Tribune, RSF forces army retreat in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state, 5 December 2024, url
- 862
Ayin Network, Escalation of fighting in Al-Jazeera State, 7 December 2024, url
- 863
International Crisis Group, CrisisWatch – Sudan: February 2024 – December 2024, n.d., url
- 864
Darfur 24, RSF accused of killing 15 civilians in a village in Sennar State, 12 August 2024, url
- 865
ACLED, Defection and violence against civilians in Sudan’s al-Jazirah state, 18 November 2024, url
- 866
UNSG, Recommendations for the protection of civilians in the Sudan, S/2024/759, 21 October 2024, url, para. 18
- 867
International Crisis Group, CrisisWatch – Sudan: February 2024 – December 2024, n.d., url
- 868
AP, Sudan’s paramilitary fighters killed 85 people in an attack on a central village, residents say, 17 August 2024, url
- 869
BBC News, Crowded market shelled in Sudan killing more than 20, 9 September 2024, url; Darfur 24, 30 Children Killed and Injured in Sennar Shelling, UNICEF Says, 12 September 2024, url
- 870
Darfur 24, RSF accused of killing 15 civilians in a village in Sennar State, 12 August 2024, url
- 871
Mada Masr, Sudan Nashra: RSF floods villages in Gezira | Clashes intensify in Fasher | Sudan split on Russian veto, 20 November 2024, url
- 872
Ayin Network, New Battlefronts in Darfur, recapture of Jebel Moya, 19 October 2024, url
- 873
Mada Masr, Sudan Nashra: RSF floods villages in Gezira | Clashes intensify in Fasher | Sudan split on Russian veto, 20 November 2024, url
- 874
ACLED, Defection and violence against civilians in Sudan’s al-Jazirah state, 18 November 2024, url
- 876
International Crisis Group, CrisisWatch – Sudan: January 2023 – January 2024, n.d., url; Radio Dabanga, SPLM-N El Hilu launches new attack in Blue Nile region and wins terrain in South Kordofan, 11 July 2023, url
- 877
STPT and SCRN, Blue Nile, its conflict dynamics, and the potential implications for the wider war in Sudan 2017 – 2024, 24 March 2024, url, p. 10
- 878
UNSG, Recommendations for the protection of civilians in the Sudan, S/2024/759, 21 October 2024, url, para. 11; Darfur 24, Army, RSF Battles Move to Blue Nile, 4 August 2024, url
- 879
Al Taghyeer, الدعم السريع تتسلل إلى محافظة التضامن بالنيل الأزرق [RSF infiltrate into Tadamun governorate in Blue Nile], 3 August 2024, url
- 880
Mada Masr, Sudan Nashra: Rising prospects for Sudan govt participation in Swiss ceasefire talks | War spills over into Blue Nile | Military acquires advanced weaponry, 10 August 2024, url
- 881
Al Taghyeer, لدعم السريع يستعيد السيطرة على مناطق بولاية النيل الأزرق [RSF regain control of areas in Blue Nile state], 22 November 2024, url
- 882
International Crisis Group, CrisisWatch – Sudan: January 2023 – January 2024, n.d., url
- 883
Sudan War Monitor, Rapid collapse of SAF defenses in Jebel Aulia, 20 November 2023, url
- 884
Sudan War Monitor, RSF attack market in White Nile, 25 November 2024, url
- 885
Sudan Tribune, RSF attacks spark mass displacement in Sudan’s White Nile state, 9 November 2024, url
- 886
Al Taghyeer, مقتل وإصابة 10 مواطنين في هجوم للدعم السريع على السيال بالنيل الأبيض [10 civilian casualties in RSF attack on Al-Sayyal in White Nile], 24 November 2024, url; Al Taghyeer, السودان: هجوم للدعم السريع يقتل 6 ويصيب 7 في النيل الأبيض [RSF attack kills 6 and injures 7 in White Nile], 20 November 2024, url
- 887
Sudan Tribune, RSF attacks spark mass displacement in Sudan’s White Nile state, 9 November 2024, url