Sudan’s army says it has captured the strategic Bir Kelekel area in West Darfur from the Rapid Support Forces, a week after army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejected negotiations and vowed to retake all RSF-held territory.
The Sudanese army has taken control of the Bir Kelekel area in West Darfur after clashes with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the governor of West Darfur said on 15 October 2026, according to Anadolu Agency and Radio Tamazuj. The governor said the army and its allied forces had made significant progress in Bir Kelekel, in the eastern part of the Jebel Moon district, an area he described as strategically important because of its proximity to Jebel Moon.
Delima News could not confirm the claim from an independent source, and the sources reviewed carry only the account of the army’s side. They do not include a statement from the RSF on the area or reports of casualties from the fighting.
The announcement follows a political stance. On 7 October army chief al-Burhan told a gathering in Village 5, Merowe, in northern Sudan, that he would take “every inch” of territory held by the RSF and that the military option would continue until the paramilitary force was removed from the country, according to Al Jazeera, which cites the Sudan News Agency. He rejected negotiations explicitly.
A US envoy had suggested that peace required an inclusive, Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led national dialogue, according to the same report. The article does not describe a truce proposal and Delima News does not mention one.
The army says it is advancing on other fronts. Al Jazeera reports that it is moving towards the cities of En Nahud and Al Khuway in West Kordofan, after gains in neighbouring North Kordofan. A search summary of other coverage says that the army controls most of the north, east and centre of the country, including the capital Khartoum, while the RSF holds most of Darfur and parts of Kordofan.
The war began in April 2023 over disagreements about integrating the two forces. It has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 13 million, according to Al Jazeera and the search summary. The Al Jazeera report adds that at least 10 civilians were killed in West Kordofan and more than 5,500 people were displaced from villages in Blue Nile state over three days, though it does not say who was responsible.
Another search result describes the army repelling a major RSF attack in West Darfur, according to the governor, and a Middle East Monitor article of 15 October says that the army advanced in West Darfur and recaptured areas from the RSF. These headlines were seen in search results and were not opened.
The reports show a military campaign rather than a peace process, with the army pursuing gains and refusing talks. The sources reviewed do not give the number of fighters involved or the extent of the area taken, and Delima News does not estimate them.
Delima News will report further developments in West Darfur and Kordofan.
Image: A market in Khartoum (file photo; a stand-in image). Photo: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
