The Sudanese army has recaptured the town of Khor Hassan in southeastern Blue Nile state, a key flashpoint in the ongoing civil war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has raged for over three years.

In a statement on Friday, the army said it had seized the town from the RSF and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment.

Blue Nile state is strategically important due to its geography, serving as a gateway to central Sudan and providing a route for resupply along the border with Ethiopia. The Sudanese government accuses Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF, though both deny the allegations.

According to the Sudan Tribune, the capture of Khor Hassan is part of the army's strategy to retake the town of Kurmuk near the Ethiopian border, a vital corridor for cross-border trade and access to key infrastructure like the Al-Roseires Dam.

The war began in April 2023 following a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Since then, over 150,000 people have been killed and more than 12 million displaced.

Source: www.aljazeera.com