Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have announced their control over the strategic border triangle where Sudan, Egypt, and Libya meet, prompting questions over Cairo’s stance on the latest development in the Sudanese war.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) gave a conflicting account, stating its units had evacuated the area as part of a planned defensive rearrangement, just a day after accusing the RSF and allied Libyan forces of attacking its positions there. Libya has denied any involvement.
The development concerns a border region near the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and one of the main fronts in the conflict between the SAF and the RSF.
In a statement on Wednesday, the RSF said it had “liberated the strategic (triangle) area, which constitutes a pivotal meeting point between Sudan, Libya, and Egypt, in a qualitative step.” It added that it had inflicted “heavy losses in lives and equipment” on the army and seized dozens of combat vehicles.
This announcement followed a statement from the SAF, which said it had “evacuated the border triangle area, as part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression.” The SAF asserted on Wednesday that “the move comes within its operational plans to protect national sovereignty and secure strategic locations.”
However, the previous day, the Sudanese army had accused the RSF and Libyan forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar of “attacking border points in the border triangle… for the purpose of seizing the area.” In a statement on Tuesday, it called the alleged attack a “blatant aggression against Sudan, its land, and its people,” vowing to respond forcefully.
In response, the General Command of Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) denied the accusations, calling them “false allegations and a repeated narrative that has no connection to reality.” The LNA statement denied attacking Sudanese territory or siding with either party in the conflict. It urged the Sudanese army to “refrain from dragging its name into the ongoing conflict,” calling it a “transparent method to stir up regional sedition and settle internal scores in Sudan.” The LNA stressed its full commitment to the principles of good neighbourliness and international law.
Egyptian experts said that Cairo is closely monitoring the military developments in Sudan and reserves its right to act if its sovereignty and national security are directly threatened. They suggested the RSF’s claim of control over the border triangle was a “morale boost to cover its recent losses in the capital, Khartoum.”
The war in Sudan, which began in mid-April 2023 between the SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has entered its second year. The conflict has created a devastating humanitarian crisis.
According to United Nations estimates, the fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 14 million people both inside and outside the country, while plunging parts of the nation into famine. The UN has issued escalating warnings that millions of people in Sudan could face a catastrophic famine in the coming months if the conflict is not halted.
