Northern State desert base falls to RSF
Capture sets stage for southward advance toward El-Fasher
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have captured the Chevrolet military base in Northern State’s western desert, along Sudan's border with Libya. This marks another significant territorial shift, coming just days after the paramilitary group seized the Libyan-Sudanese-Egyptian tripoint, known as the “Triangle.”
On Wednesday last week, the RSF launched an assault on the Triangle area, attacking the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) garrison located east of the Uweinat Mountain range. The assault originated from Libyan territories to the west, where the RSF had been consolidating forces.
In the attack, the RSF overwhelmed the garrison, which housed elements of the Joint Forces of Armed Struggle Movements (JSAMF). The JSAMF, an alliance of former Darfur rebel groups fighting alongside the Sudanese military, was stationed at the base as part of their efforts to support the SAF in the region.
Following the attack, Sudanese forces and their allies retreated south to the Chevrolet military garrison, located at the southern edge of Northern State along the border with North Darfur. The Sudanese military described the withdrawal as a tactical move to reorganize and prepare to counter what they termed an “invasion” by the RSF and foreign forces.
However, the capture of the Chevrolet base by the RSF raises serious concerns about the Sudanese military’s ability to maintain operations in the northern desert. This development significantly strengthens the RSF's position along the border with Libya and threatens to pave the way for their further advances south towards El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur which it has been attempting to seize.
Videos (such as the one above) geolocated by Sudan War Monitor and a brief RSF statement confirmed the presence of the paramilitary forces at the base, though the specific commanders leading the assault remain unclear.
In the statement, the RSF described the area as strategic and a significant step in advancing to northern Sudanese states.
“We have seized full control of the strategic Karb al-Toum area and are advancing toward the complete liberation of northern Sudan.”
The exact whereabouts of the Sudanese troops who were stationed in the area remain uncertain, though some sources suggest they may have retreated southeast to Al-Atrun which the Sudanese Armed Forces captured from the paramilitary group last month.
The Chevrolet base, located in the village of Karb al-Tom (20°13'27.80"N 25°30'7.60"E), is approximately 52 kilometers east from the Libyan border and 175 kilometers south of the Triangle border point which the RSF captured last Wednesday.
It is also situated about 530 kilometers northwest of the Northern State capital, Dongola, and 254 kilometers from the nearest Sudanese army-controlled base of Al-Atrun in North Darfur.
The Chevrolet originally belonged to the Sudanese army’s border guards, a unit from which the RSF emerged after rebranding to its current name. The Sudanese army had captured the base on April 19, 2023 four days after the outbreak of the conflict in the capital Khartoum.
The RSF’s capture of this base further complicates Sudanese military efforts to block RSF movements and reinforcements along the Libyan border, as well as to launch an offensive on North Darfur through the northern deserts.
The RSF’s growing presence along key routes jeopardizes the Sudanese army's maneuverability, particularly as they attempt to push from Al-Dabba in Northern State and advance toward Darfur. It also strengthens the RSF’s hold on critical desert regions, potentially securing supply line along the border.
At the beginning of the war, the RSF took control of several urban centers in central Sudan, forcing the Sudanese military to concentrate their efforts and resources on dislodging the RSF from these cities. This focus on urban centers stretched the Sudanese military’s resources thin, leaving border areas, particularly in Darfur and Sudan's northwestern regions, undergarrisoned.
Consequently, only a small number of allied factions, largely from former Darfur rebel groups, were stationed at key border points. Their presence was primarily to prevent RSF infiltration and to guard against the arrival of weapons from neighboring countries.
The RSF controls most of North Darfur, with the notable exception of the state capital, Al-Fasher, where the Sudanese military’s 6th Infantry Division is headquartered. Al-Fasher has been under siege since late 2023, when former the pro-SAF former Darfur rebels aligned with the army.
Despite the Sudanese military's May capture of Al-Atrun, which threatened RSF reinforcements with arms and ammunition, the paramilitary group retains control of crucial territories to the north, including Al-Maliha, Melit, and Al-Koma – key to maintaining the siege of Al-Fasher.
Karb Al-Tom is part of the Uweinat Mountains range along the Libyan border, which includes three critical oases: Al-Atrun, Rehab, and Karb al-Tom itself. Originally, Karb Al-Tom was part of the Al-Maliha locality in North Darfur but was transferred to Northern State in 2015 by a presidential decree following the partition of Darfur into five states.
While RSF's control over areas like Al-Maliha, Al-Atrun, Rehab, and Karb al-Tom is aimed at securing an uninterrupted supply line from the Libyan border to Mellit, it also provides the group with a strategic route for a potential offensive on El Fasher from the north.
This control could also act as a strategic diversion, redirecting Sudanese military resources from the Kordofan front, where the army is actively engaged in combat with the RSF. By stretching the army’s forces and attention, this maneuver jeopardizes efforts to advance toward Darfur, the home region of the majority of RSF fighters, from the Kordofan area.
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