Sudan’s army and its allied Joint Force, a coalition of former Darfur rebel groups that fights beside it, said on Friday 13 November 2026 that they had taken the town of Khuwei in West Kordofan from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The claim comes from the two forces themselves and had not been independently confirmed by Saturday morning.
The army also said its air defences shot down a drone over Blue Nile state on Friday, which it said had crossed the border from Ethiopia. The RSF, the army’s rival in the war that began in April 2023, had not publicly answered either claim.
Key Facts
- Who Sudan’s army and the allied Joint Force, a coalition of former Darfur rebel groups.
- What They say they took the town of Khuwei in West Kordofan state from the RSF on 13 November.
- Claimed losses The Joint Force says 20 RSF combat vehicles were destroyed and another 40 seized.
- Drone The army says it shot down a drone near Dandaro, in Blue Nile state on the Ethiopian border.
- Status No independent confirmation and no RSF statement had been published by Saturday morning.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a prediction platform, shows traders pricing a Sudan ceasefire by 31 December 2026 at 10.5% (14 November, 4:27 a.m. ET).
What the Army and the Joint Force Said
The Joint Force’s spokesman, Major Mutwakil Abu Ja, said in a statement on Friday that the forces took Khuwei and the nearby areas of Sarif Ankoush, Um Labana and Al-Dawdiya. He claimed the RSF lost a commander leading its forces in the area, with 20 combat vehicles destroyed and another 40 seized.
In the week before, the army said on 7 November that it had taken Ayal Bakhit, on its advance toward Khuwei. The Joint Force said on 8 November that it had kept up offensive operations in West Kordofan for a third day.
What Is Not Confirmed
None of the battlefield figures has been checked outside the forces that issued them. The figures on RSF losses come only from the Joint Force.
The RSF has not published its own account of who holds Khuwei. The army has not said who flew the drone downed over Blue Nile or what it was aiming at.
Why It Matters for Readers
Kordofan, a region of south-central Sudan, is where the army and the RSF have traded territorial claims in recent weeks, as in our report on the army’s claimed gains of 8 November. The Khuwei claim covers one town and the areas around it.
On Polymarket, the market on a Sudan ceasefire by 31 December 2026 stood at 10.5% on 14 November. Treat the Khuwei claim as one side’s account until the RSF or an independent source responds, and see our explainer on the army, the RSF and their backers for the wider picture.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction platform, priced the market “Sudan civil war ceasefire by December 31, 2026?” at 10.5% as of 4:27 a.m. ET (09:27 UTC) on 14 November, with about US$15,100 traded in total on this market. That price is a bet, not a forecast, and with so little traded it is a thin signal that says nothing about the fighting in Kordofan.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who says the Sudanese army took Khuwei?
The Sudanese army and the allied Joint Force said so on Friday 13 November 2026. No independent source had confirmed it by Saturday morning.
Has the RSF responded to the claim?
No public RSF response had been published by Saturday morning. The RSF, or Rapid Support Forces, is the paramilitary group that has fought the army since April 2023.
What is the Joint Force?
It is a coalition of former Darfur rebel groups that fights alongside Sudan’s army. Its spokesman, Major Mutwakil Abu Ja, issued the statement on Khuwei.
Sources: statements by Sudan’s army and the Joint Force of 13 November 2026 (spokesman Major Mutwakil Abu Ja); army and Joint Force statements of 7 November 2026; Polymarket market page, read 14 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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