RSF seizes Libya-Sudan border zone
Army pulls out of 'Triangle' area amid claims of Haftar’s involvement
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Wednesday afternoon captured the strategic Triangle border zone – located at the intersection of Sudan, Libya, and Egypt – marking a new escalation in the northern theater of Sudan’s deadly civil war.
The RSF advance secures for the paramilitary group a key desert corridor, further extending its influence along the volatile Libya-Sudan frontier and positioning toward Sudan’s northern states.
While the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) initially claimed to have evacuated the area as part of “defensive arrangements,” visual evidence reviewed by Sudan War Monitor contradicts this narrative.
Footage shows RSF fighters interrogating captured members of the Joint Forces – a pro-SAF coalition of former Darfur rebel movements – indicating that at least some SAF-aligned troops were overrun rather than withdrawn.
The critically strategic area, rarely maintained by a heavy Sudanese military presence, was reportedly defended by a small detachment, which was either scattered or captured during the RSF advance.
The Triangle area, located east of Jebel Uweinat, is of strategic value for both its geography and logistics. Its capture gives the RSF control of yet another transnational access point with Libya and potentially poses a threat to other parts of Northern State. The RSF previously has used the Libya-Sudan border crossing to smuggle weapons and profit from illicit trade and human trafficking.
In a statement, the RSF declared the Triangle “liberated” and called the operation a strategic success and emphasized the region’s economic potential, citing its mineral wealth as well as its status as a trade hub.
“The Rapid Support Forces succeeded, on the morning of Wednesday, in liberating the strategic ‘Triangle’ area, which forms a pivotal meeting point between Sudan, Libya, and Egypt – a qualitative step that will have significant implications across several combat axes, particularly in the northern desert. This victory also contributes to combating illegal migration and human trafficking along the Sudanese border.”
“Our forces fought swift and decisive battles against mercenary militias and terrorist brigades, which ended with the enemy retreating south after suffering heavy losses in lives and equipment. Our forces also seized dozens of combat vehicles.”
“The importance of this victory stems from the vital geographic location of the ‘Triangle’ area, as it is considered an economic and strategic border crossing between three countries and a central hub for trade and transportation between North and East Africa. The region also contains natural resources rich in oil, gas, and minerals, in addition to being a space that reflects the cultural diversity and social interconnection among the peoples of the region.”
“The expansion of our forces into the northern desert axis is a strategic shift in securing the borders and protecting the country, especially after repeated transgressions by mercenary movements and militias supported by the ‘Port Sudan authority,’ which is terrorist.”
“The people of the area came out in spontaneous mass celebrations in support of our valiant forces, welcoming the liberation of the ‘Triangle’ and expressing hope for the return of security and stability.”
“We affirm to our great people that the Rapid Support Forces are proceeding, with determination and responsibility, in their great national battle to secure Sudan’s borders and prevent their transformation into a theater for the chaos of mercenaries and terrorist Islamic Movement militias, which seek to expand the scope of fighting and threaten regional security.”
“We will continue the struggle relentlessly until the complete liberation of the homeland’s soil, the fall of the authority of tyranny and terrorism, and the building of a new Sudan marked by peace, justice, and full national sovereignty.”
Footage released by RSF-affiliated channels shows fighters inside the garrison and celebrating with gunfire.
The full extent of RSF control within the Triangle remains unclear. However, available evidence suggests that RSF units may have advanced beyond the immediate zone, potentially pursuing retreating SAF elements. In a video reviewed by Sudan War Monitor, RSF fighters in a pickup truck are heard instructing others to stop and turn back, warning “we have entered the Egyptian border.”
While it is not confirmed whether SAF forces fled into Egyptian territory, multiple local sources told Sudan War Monitor that most army personnel and allied fighters withdrew south toward the Chevrolet Garrison, a military base located in northern parts of North Darfur State – approximately 100 kilometers from the Triangle – highlighting a significant repositioning of pro-government forces away from the contested border zone.
The SAF has accused Libyan forces aligned with Khalifa Haftar of directly supporting the RSF in the assault. A statement from the army referred to the attackers as the “Salafist Brigade,” a Haftar-affiliated unit allegedly involved in multiple previous RSF-linked operations along Sudan’s western border.
“In an unprecedented and reprehensible act and flagrant violation of international law, the terrorist Daglo militia, supported by the Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar (the Salafist Brigade), today attacked our border points in the border triangle between Sudan, Egypt, and Libya, with the aim of seizing control of the area.”
“The Armed Forces clarifies that the direct intervention of Khalifa Haftar's forces alongside the militia in this war constitutes a blatant aggression against Sudan, its land, and its people and an extension of the international and regional conspiracy against our country, under the eyes and ears of the world and its international and regional organizations.
“We affirm that the Sudanese people and army will strongly confront this blatant aggression. We will defend our country and our national sovereignty, and will prevail, regardless of the extent of the conspiracy and aggression supported by the United Arab Emirates and its militias in the region.”
The statement was followed by a new declaration that the army had withdrawn “as part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression.”
While the Tripoli-based Libyan Government of National Unity denied involvement, it did not explicitly rule out the presence of Libyan fighters in the Triangle assault. Instead, Tripoli condemned the use of Libyan citizens in foreign wars – an implicit rebuke of Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based forces, which Port Sudan accuses of aiding the RSF.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the State of Libya has followed the press statement issued by the official spokesperson of the Sudanese Armed Forces regarding the alleged participation of an armed Libyan group in attacks on Sudanese army positions at the shared border points between Libya, Sudan, and Egypt.”
“Based on reports received from the relevant authorities, the Ministry confirms that the group in question does not fall under the authority of the Libyan Ministry of Defense and does not operate under the command of the Libyan Army’s General Staff.”
“The Ministry strongly condemns and firmly rejects the involvement of Libyan nationals in acts that may destabilize the security and stability of neighboring countries or participation in the ongoing conflict in Sudan. It holds all individuals and groups involved legally and criminally accountable for such operations.”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation reiterates the position of the Government of National Unity in firmly supporting the security, stability, and territorial unity of Sudan. It calls for an end to the war and fighting, and for a peaceful solution that spares bloodshed and restores peace and stability for the brotherly Sudanese people.”
Haftar’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), for their part, issued a formal denial, rejecting claims of any cross-border operations and accusing the Sudanese army of manufacturing external threats to distract from internal collapse.
“The General Command of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces has followed, with great astonishment, the statement issued today by the spokesperson of the ‘Sudanese Armed Forces,’ which contained false allegations accusing our forces of intervening in Sudanese border areas with the intention of seizing them and siding with one of the warring parties – a repeated narrative that bears no connection to reality.”
“The General Command of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces categorically denies these accusations regarding our forces attacking Sudanese territory. These media allegations are a blatant attempt to export Sudan’s internal crisis and create an imaginary external enemy,” Haftar’s forces said in a statement.
Videos
In the following video, members of the Rapid Support Forces celebrates inside a Joint Forces garrison in the triangle.
In the following video, RSF soldiers are seen questioning a group of Joint Forces war prisoners put in military vehicles.
In this video, an RSF commander – likely a high-ranking officer – can be seen talking over the radio instructing fighters to turn back, warning that “we have entered the Egyptian border.”