Sudan army repels RSF attack near Khartoum and Ethiopian border
Sudanese army: 250 RSF combat vehicles repelled in Jabrat al-Shaykh
The Sudanese army announced on Thursday that it had repelled a large-scale attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Jabrat al-Shaykh area in North Kordofan, coinciding with drone attacks on Khartoum and clashes in the city of Al-Karmak near the border with Ethiopia.
Large-scale attack in Jabrat al-Shaykh
The Sudanese Armed Forces said in a statement that its forces, with support from allied forces, repelled an attack by the Rapid Support Forces involving more than 250 combat vehicles on the Jabrat al-Shaykh area.
It added that the Rapid Support Forces suffered casualties and equipment losses, and that the attacking forces withdrew towards Darfur, noting that its military operations in the area are continuing.
In contrast, a source in the Rapid Support Forces said its forces are engaged in battles in Jabrat al-Shaykh and Bara in northern Kordofan.
A military source said the attack on Jabrat al-Shaykh was preceded by drone strikes, along with artillery shelling on the Bara area south of Jabrat al-Shaykh.
The battles in the area come after the Sudanese army regained control in late July of the road linking Omdurman and Al-Obeid, according to military sources.
Drone attacks on Khartoum
Khartoum came under drone attacks for the second consecutive day on Thursday, according to military sources and witnesses.
An AFP journalist in Khartoum reported that air defenses were activated from Omdurman, followed by explosions, while witnesses in central Khartoum and Khartoum North said they saw drones in the sky and heard explosions.
A military source told AFP that air defenses intercepted and shot down the drones.
The Rapid Support Forces had launched an attack on Wednesday that military sources said targeted five cities under army control, including Khartoum.
Clashes in Al-Karmak near Ethiopia
In southeastern Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces said they had launched an attack on the city of Al-Karmak, which borders Ethiopia and which the Sudanese army had announced recapturing last month.
A source in the Rapid Support Forces said its forces “liberated” the city, while a Sudanese military source accused the attacking forces of launching the attack from Ethiopian territory.
Ethiopia had previously denied the presence of Rapid Support Forces on its territory, while local sources reported that border areas serve as a supply corridor for the Rapid Support Forces and allied groups.
Field developments in Kordofan and Darfur
The latest clashes come amid ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in several parts of the country.
The Rapid Support Forces had strengthened their control over large areas of Darfur over the past year, before battles continued in areas of South Kordofan and along axes near the border with Ethiopia.
In contrast, the Sudanese army controls large areas of central, eastern, and northern Sudan, and has recently recaptured key positions and roads around Omdurman and Kordofan.
مشاهد متداولة توثق أسر عناصر من القوة المشتركة المتحالفة مع الجيش السوداني عددا من أفراد قوات الدعم السريع خلال التصدي للهجوم الذي شنته على منطقة جبرة الشيخ بولاية شمال كردفان pic.twitter.com/DaDxijhFfD
— الجزيرة مباشر (@ajmubasher) August 13, 2026
War continues despite shifting front lines
The war in Sudan has been ongoing since April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, and has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths and the displacement of over 12 million people, according to relief workers’ estimates.
The UN describes Sudan’s humanitarian crisis as among the worst in the world.
Khartoum has been under army control since March 2025, following a large-scale military operation to recapture the capital from the Rapid Support Forces.
Despite the return of large numbers of displaced people, the start of reconstruction work, and the resumption of activity in some parts of the capital, Khartoum and other areas still experience intermittent attacks and clashes.
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