Has the army turned the page on control of western Sudan?

Khartoum, Sudan – A Sudanese army-led counteroffensive in the western region of Darfur has led to a series of gains for government-aligned forces over the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in recent days.

In early August, Sudan’s military and allied groups repelled two successive attacks by the RSF in the strategically important Bir Saliba region. It lies about 30km (nearly 20 miles) north of el-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state and the RSF’s last stronghold in the region.

Government-backed forces have tried to put pressure on RSF supply lines by seizing control of crossings and desert routes along the border with Chad. The strategy could signal a shift in fighting towards el-Geneina.

Leading to el-Geneina, the Bir Saliba region is of strategic importance. It has a network of roads that link the state capital with areas in the northwest of the region, particularly Jebel Moon and Kulbus, according to General Bahr al-Din Adam Karama, the governor of West Darfur state.

Darfur Regional Governor Minni Arko Minnawi announced that Major General Mahdi Adam, known as “Jebel Moon” and one of the RSF’s most prominent field commanders, was killed in fighting in western Sudan. The RSF has not officially confirmed his death, but if true it would represent a significant loss for the paramilitary group and leave a leadership gap along this key western front.

Minnawi said the Joint Force of the Armed Struggle Movements, a coalition of former Darfur rebel groups that signed the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement and now fights alongside the Sudanese army against the RSF, also thwarted an attempt by the RSF to encircle Bir Saliba. One RSF force advanced from north of Kulbus while another moved from the direction of Sileia in the Jebel Moon area before launching a large-scale attack on the Joint Force.

“[The RSF] bet on the element of surprise to break through the Joint Force’s defences, but they received another lesson,” Minnawi said.

Major Mutawakkil Ali Wakil Abu-Ja, the Joint Force’s spokesman, told Al Jazeera that the Joint Force destroyed more than 38 combat vehicles and seized 27 others in the campaign.