Sudan’s army and allied forces took the town of El Khuwei in West Kordofan state on Friday 13 November after fighting with the Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese officials and military sources said.
If confirmed, it would be the first locality the army has recovered in West Kordofan, a state that has been one of the paramilitary group’s main strongholds, and it would put the army on the road towards En Nahud and, beyond it, Darfur. The Rapid Support Forces had not commented by Friday evening and the claim could not be independently verified.
What do officials say happened in El Khuwei?
Military sources told Sudan Tribune that the army and the Joint Force of allied armed movements began a wide operation on several axes on Friday morning. They first took Sarif Ankoush, a settlement about 20km west of El Khuwei on the road to En Nahud, and then the town itself, the outlet reported in Arabic.
Minni Arko Minnawi, the governor of the Darfur region whose movement fights alongside the army, congratulated Sudanese on what he called the “liberation” of the town in a Facebook post, according to Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s state news agency. Bahr al-Din Adam Karama, the governor of West Darfur state, said in a statement that the armed forces, the Joint Force and supporting units had taken the town after “fierce battles” that inflicted heavy losses on the paramilitary group.
Soldiers posted videos on social media saying they had entered the town, Anadolu reported. Sudan Tribune said footage also showed Joint Force fighters in Sarif Ankoush. Neither outlet gave casualty figures, and the videos have not been independently verified.
Has the Rapid Support Forces responded?
No. Anadolu said the Rapid Support Forces had issued no immediate comment, and no statement from the group had appeared by late Friday. Claims of territorial gains by either side in Sudan’s war have at times been disputed or reversed within days.
El Khuwei itself has changed hands before. The Rapid Support Forces took it in late May 2025 after battles in which control of the town passed back and forth several times, Anadolu said. The group has held the northern localities of West Kordofan, En Nahud and El Khuwei, since then, according to Sudan Tribune.
Why does El Khuwei matter?
The town lies on the main road west from El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, to En Nahud, West Kordofan’s second-largest town and the Rapid Support Forces’ main base in the north of the state. From En Nahud the road continues to Darfur, most of which the paramilitary group controls.
Sudan Tribune’s military sources said the advance puts pressure on the group’s positions in En Nahud. The army last week took the Ayal Bakhit area north-west of El Khuwei, Anadolu reported, citing informed sources, and in July it retook Bara and other towns on the road linking El Obeid with Khartoum.
Fighting across the three Kordofan states has intensified since late October. The region sits between army-held central Sudan and Darfur, and its roads carry supplies for both sides. Aid agencies have warned of the cost to civilians: the World Health Organization this week called for sustained humanitarian aid in North Kordofan, and drone strikes hit up to 15 stations on Sudan’s power grid in October.
The war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023. It has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 13mn, according to UN estimates.
What happens next?
The next test is whether the army can hold El Khuwei and move on En Nahud, to the south-west. The southern part of West Kordofan, including El Fula, Muglad and Abu Zabad, remains under the paramilitary group’s control, Sudan Tribune reported.
Separately on Friday, the army said its air defences had shot down a long-range drone in Blue Nile state that it said had crossed from Ethiopia, Al-Hadath reported. That claim is the army’s alone, and Ethiopia had not responded publicly.
FAQ
Where is El Khuwei?
It is a town in West Kordofan state, in central-western Sudan, on the road between El Obeid in North Kordofan and En Nahud.
Who says the army has taken El Khuwei?
Military sources quoted by Sudan Tribune, the Darfur regional governor Minni Arko Minnawi and the governor of West Darfur. The Rapid Support Forces has not commented, and the claim has not been independently verified.
Who controlled the town before?
The Rapid Support Forces had held it since late May 2025, after fighting in which the town changed hands several times.
Why is the town strategically important?
It sits on the main road from El Obeid to En Nahud and on to Darfur, so control of it affects supply lines for both sides.
