RSF lose stronghold city Bara to Sudanese army and allies

The defeat is a heavy blow for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which lost one of their strongholds and a strategic city, previously used for attacks on El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, to the Sudanese armed forces on Thursday.

The city of Bara was known as a bastion for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary movement battling the Sudanese armed forces for domination for more than two years now. But not anymore: on 11 September, Sudanese armed forces and allied groups stormed the city, marking a major victory for them, and a heavy defeat for the RSF, which had used the city to keep northern Kordofan in its grip.

Bara not only allowed the RSF to conduct regular attacks on El Obeid, the capital of the state, but also sits along the Sadarat Highway, a strategic road linking Khartoum to Kordofan and Darfur state.

The Sudanese armed forces released a statement upon the capture of Bara, saying that its soldiers had entered the city "with force, determination and power, liberating it of the filth of the thugs".

According to analysts, the battle for the city also cost the RSF a considerable number of fighters.

Despite a report by Reuters news agency on Friday that the RSF had acquired long-range kamikaze drones according to satellite footage from May, new weapons like these seem not have been able to change the current tendency of defeats for the RSF.

The RSF has increasingly stepped up its drone capabilities during the past year, whereas the Sudanese army has reinforced its efforts to recruit more soldiers and forge new alliances.