Sudan Army Withdraws from Key Border Area Amid Ongoing Conflict with RSF

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Sudanese army announced its withdrawal from a strategic area near the border triangle of Libya, Egypt, and Sudan on June 11, 2025. This move follows accusations that forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, in conjunction with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), launched an attack in the region.

The Sudanese military has been engaged in a civil war against the RSF, comprised mainly of former rebel groups. They patrolled the contested border area, accusing RSF and Haftar’s forces of utilizing it for arms deliveries. The Sudanese army stated, “As part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression, our forces today evacuated the triangle area,” though they did not provide further details about the decision.

Late the previous day, Haftar’s forces refuted allegations of a cross-border assault, asserting that it was the Sudanese army that attacked their patrols within Libyan territory. Sudan has implicated the United Arab Emirates—an ally of Haftar—in the weapon shipments to these forces, a claim the UAE has denied.

Since the onset of the conflict in April 2023, the power struggle has resulted in significant casualties and displacement in Sudan. The ongoing war pits army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan against his former ally, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF leader. As the fighting escalates, international mediation efforts have repeatedly failed to bring about a ceasefire.

The violence has split Sudan into two factions, with the army controlling regions in the center, east, and north, while the RSF and their allies dominate nearly all of Darfur and portions of the south. The conflict has led to thousands of reported deaths and displaced approximately 13 million people, making it one of the most severe humanitarian crises in recent history. The United Nations has described the situation as dire, with both access to aid and stability deteriorating rapidly.