Soldiers of the Sudanese army are patrolling in Salha, south of Omdurman, two days after the Sudanese army recaptured the city from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on May 22, 2025. (Credit: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP.)
The paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed Thursday the recapture of two strategic towns in the Kordofan region, in western Sudan, a war-torn country hit by a violent cholera epidemic that has killed 70 people in two days.
According to a statement released Thursday, the paramilitaries announced they had successively taken back the towns of Dibeibat, in South Kordofan state, then al-Khoei, the first locality in West Kordofan state. “The successive recapture of Dibeibat and al-Khoei is not only a victory on the ground but also affirms the near-total control of the RSF over most of the Kordofan region,” said the RSF spokesperson.
Africa’s third-largest country has been torn apart since April 2023 by a power struggle between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the army chief and de facto leader of the country since a coup in 2021, and his former right-hand man, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the RSF. Al-Khoei, located about a hundred kilometers from el-Obeid—a strategic hub between Khartoum and Darfur—was briefly recaptured by the army about ten days ago before falling back into paramilitary hands on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the RSF had announced that they had taken control of Dibeibat, a key town connecting the states of North and South Kordofan. Witnesses confirmed to AFP that the locality was now under their control. As the conflict enters its third year, the country remains de facto divided in two: the army controls the center, east, and north, while the paramilitaries hold almost all of Darfur and parts of the south.
The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million people, and caused what the U.N. has described as “the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
On May 22, the U.S. Department of State accused Khartoum of using chemical weapons in 2024, without specifying the location or circumstances of their use. On Thursday, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the formation of a national investigative committee while again rejecting these allegations, stating it acts “in accordance with its international commitments, including the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC),” ratified in 1999.
Cholera
Last week, the Sudanese army announced it had completed the recapture of the entire state of Khartoum — which includes the capital and its surroundings — after driving the RSF from their last positions in the agglomeration. But the capital now faces a major health emergency: a cholera outbreak that has already caused 70 deaths in two days, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.
In a statement, the ministry reported 942 new infections and 25 deaths for Wednesday, following 1,177 new cases and 45 deaths on Tuesday. The epidemic comes after weeks of drone strikes attributed to the RSF, which have knocked out the capital’s water and electricity supply.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry had already reported a sharp increase in cholera, with 2,729 cases and 172 deaths recorded in one week, with 90% of new infections concentrated in Khartoum state. Authorities nevertheless estimate that 89% of patients, placed in isolation, are in the process of recovering, while expressing concern over the lack of access to clean water, which promotes the epidemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Fears of a heavier toll
Vaccination campaigns began on Tuesday in the locality of Jebel Awlia, south of Khartoum, according to U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. “The World Health Organization also delivered over 22 metric tons of emergency health and choleral supplies to support local efforts,” he said.
According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, more than one million children are at risk of contracting cholera across Khartoum state. This state alone has recorded over 7,700 cases since the beginning of the year, including 1,000 children under five, and 185 deaths. But the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) fears a heavier actual toll.
The U.N. agency expressed on Thursday “concerns about significant discrepancies in the official data, making it difficult to assess the real scale of the epidemic.” A figure that continues, according to the U.N. office, to climb.
“On the brink of disaster”
“Sudan is on the brink of a major public health disaster,” said Eatizaz Yousif, Sudan director for the NGO International Rescue Committee (IRC). Since August 2024, health authorities have reported more than 65,000 cholera cases and over 1,700 deaths in 12 of Sudan’s 18 states.
The spread of the disease is likely to worsen with the rainy season starting in June, which hampers humanitarian aid. This acute intestinal infection is spread through food and water contaminated by the vibrio cholerae bacterium, often from fecal matter. It can cause death within hours if left untreated.