Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces have seized two key towns in Blue Nile state after launching a cross-border offensive from Ethiopian territory, displacing thousands of civilians and deepening fears that the civil war is spilling into the Horn of Africa.
The RSF, allied with a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, attacked the border locality of Geisan on August 11, advancing into the neighboring town of Kurmuk by August 12, according to the Sudan War Monitor. The Sudanese Armed Forces, which had retaken Kurmuk in July, retreated and repositioned troops around the town.
Thousands Displaced as Fighting Escalates
At least 5,355 people from more than 1,000 families were displaced from the Geisan locality between August 12 and 15, the International Organization for Migration said on Monday. Most have arrived in the state capital, Damazin, lacking food, medicine, and shelter. The Sudan Doctors Network warned on August 18 that the condition of displaced women, children, and elderly could worsen with heavy rains.
The attack on Geisan came from within Ethiopian territory, only a few kilometers south of the town, the Sudan War Monitor reasoned, pointing out that an attack from inside Sudan would have required breaking through the SAF-controlled Kurmuk-Damazin axis. Other reports also referred to the RSF’s assault as a “cross-border offensive.”
Ethiopia’s Role Under Scrutiny
Ethiopia’s support for the RSF on behalf of the UAE is widely documented, according to BreakThrough News. Addis Ababa is not only allowing RSF troops to use its territory to launch attacks into Sudan but also facilitating the transfer of equipment provided by the UAE across its territory to the RSF.
“The RSF’s cross-border attack from Ethiopia into Sudan’s Blue Nile state is yet another reminder that the war, now in its fourth year, is far from over.”
Control over Kurmuk secures the RSF a cross-border supply route, crucial to enabling its advance into this southeastern region of Sudan where it historically had no significant presence. The RSF made its first breakthrough in the region in March by capturing Kurmuk and several nearby localities before the SAF retook the town in July. Only three days before the latest RSF advance, the commissioner of Kurmuk announced the discovery of a mass grave in the town with 25 bodies, including women, children, and hospital staff.
A War Without End
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 when the SAF and RSF turned on each other, has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced nearly 13 million, unleashing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Over 40 percent of Sudan’s population faces high levels of acute food insecurity. The RSF has been pushing eastward after expelling the SAF from most of Darfur, including El Fasher, the North Darfur capital, which fell in October 2025 in a campaign a UN investigation said had all the “hallmarks of genocide.”
The Blue Nile front is a reminder that the war’s center of gravity continues to shift, now threatening to draw Ethiopia itself deeper into the conflict as tensions between Addis Ababa and the TPLF escalate along the Tigray border.
Sources: BreakThrough News; IOM; Sudan War Monitor; UN News; Sudan Doctors Network; Dabanga Radio TV Online
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