Sudan’s army says it retook a vital town in southeastern Blue Nile state, inflicting heavy losses on RSF personnel and military equipment.

Sudan’s army has recaptured a town in southeastern Blue Nile state, a state that has become a focal point in the civil war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that’s been raging for more than three years.

The Sudanese army said in a statement on Friday that it had seized the town of Khor Hassan from the RSF.

Blue Nile state has become a key flashpoint in the conflict due to its geography, serving as a gateway to central Sudan, and giving whoever controls it a greater chance of advancing into the country’s central regions.

The state also borders Ethiopia, which the Sudanese government accuses, alongside the United Arab Emirates, of backing the RSF. Both countries deny the allegations.

The RSF had been holding the town with the support of its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

Sudan’s army said it had inflicted heavy losses on the RSF in both personnel and military equipment.

According to the Sudan Tribune, the seizure of Khor Hassan is part of the army’s strategy to recapture the town of Kurmuk, near the Ethiopian border, which serves as a vital corridor for cross-border trade and provides access to key infrastructure, including the Al-Roseires Dam.

The RSF seized Khor Hassan with the support of the SPLM-N in March.

Reporting from Blue Nile state on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan described Kurmuk as a garrison town the RSF has been using as a launchpad to seize more territory.

Morgan said the outcome of the battle for Blue Nile state would be significant because the area provides the RSF with a route to resupply its forces due to its location along the border.

She also reported that the state is strategically important because of its large deposits of natural resources, including gold.

The war in Sudan began in April 2023 following a power struggle between two rival military leaders – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who heads the national army, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, who commands the RSF.

Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed, and more than 12 million are displaced.