Sudan’s army is claiming fresh momentum in its war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), even as new U.N. figures suggest a cautious shift in the country’s humanitarian landscape: millions of uprooted civilians have started making their way back home.
Defense Minister Hassan Dawoud Kabroun said Thursday that Sudanese armed forces had achieved notable gains in several of the war’s most contested areas, including Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, and had dealt heavy losses to RSF fighters.
He said military operations would press ahead until the paramilitary force was defeated and state authority was restored across Sudan’s full territory.
Kabroun described the army’s campaign as steady and backed by broad public support, saying the mission carried the legitimacy of the state.
He also asserted that the RSF had reached its weakest position since the war erupted, arguing that continued looting and theft in parts of Kordofan and Darfur showed the group’s worsening battlefield condition.
Sudan, he said, would commemorate Army Day on Aug. 14 against the backdrop of what he described as major military victories, adding that government forces were expected to make further advances in the weeks ahead.
Combat has remained fierce across Sudan’s three Kordofan states, as well as in Darfur and Blue Nile, where army units and RSF fighters have fought repeated battles in recent months.
But while the military has sought to project confidence, Sudan’s humanitarian emergency remains among the gravest in the world, even with some indicators showing limited improvement.
The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Thursday that nearly 4.65 million displaced Sudanese have returned to their areas of origin, as the number of people displaced inside the country continues to fall.
The IOM said the latest data was based on surveys carried out in almost 13,000 locations across 185 localities in all 18 Sudanese states.
Around 8.69 million people are still internally displaced, according to the agency. That represents a 25% drop from the highest displacement level recorded during the war and is about 1% lower than the figure reported a month earlier.
Return movements have been recorded in 74 localities nationwide, the IOM said. About 82% of returnees had been displaced elsewhere inside Sudan, while 18% had crossed back from neighboring countries where they had taken refuge.
Children remain among those most exposed to the conflict’s toll. The agency said people under 18 make up 55% of Sudan’s internally displaced population and 50% of all returnees.
The overall number of returnees rose by 5% compared with the previous month.
In its report last month, the IOM counted about 8.8 million internally displaced people and slightly more than 4.4 million returnees. The newest figures point to a continuing decline after displacement peaked at nearly 11.6 million people in January 2025.
The agency linked the rise in returns largely to the Sudanese army’s recapture of Khartoum, Sennar and Al-Jazirah states from RSF control, which has enabled civilians to move back gradually into areas that had been cut off or unsafe because of fighting.
Still, aid groups caution that the crisis is far from easing in many parts of Sudan. Active combat, extensive damage and poor access to basic services continue to affect large areas of the country.
Sudan descended into civil war in April 2023 after tensions between the army and the RSF over plans to fold the paramilitary group into the regular armed forces broke into open warfare.
According to U.N. estimates, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 13 million at its peak, turning Sudan into one of the world’s largest displacement crises.
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