The Tasis alliance says its fighters took the strategic Sali military base in southern Blue Nile on Tuesday, and video geolocated by two independent monitors places Rapid Support Forces fighters inside the town. The army has not commented on the reported loss.
The Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasis) said on Tuesday 3 November that its forces had captured the Sali military base in Kurmuk locality, Blue Nile state, after fighting with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). According to Darfur24 and The Sudan Times, the alliance's statement said army soldiers had been killed and captured and weapons seized, but it gave no figures. It said its forces were continuing to advance, pledged to protect civilians and urged residents to keep away from areas of military operations.
Sudan War Monitor and Sudans Post both said they had geolocated video showing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters outside the Sali health centre. Citing local accounts, both said fighters from the RSF and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu entered the town on Tuesday morning from Kurmuk to the south and Sirkum to the west. The casualty and prisoner claims have not been independently verified.
Competing claims
A day earlier, the army's 4th Infantry Division said it had stopped RSF and SPLM-N forces from breaching its positions at Sali and at Bakori in Geissan locality, inflicting "heavy losses", Anadolu reported. The division gave no figures. In the reports reviewed by CERHA, the army had not commented on the reported capture.
Sali lies on the route linking Kurmuk, near the Ethiopian border, with Dindiro and the state capital, Ed Damazin. Distances given by different outlets vary: Sudan War Monitor puts it about 100km south of Ed Damazin, while Darfur24 says about 60km. Darfur24 also noted the area's gold-mining sites. The army had repelled several earlier attacks on the town since April.
Also on Tuesday, the army said its air defences had shot down a "hostile" drone that crossed into Blue Nile from Ethiopia, Al-Monitor reported. It did not say who had launched the drone. Ethiopia, which denies backing the RSF, had not commented.
Civilians on the move
The fighting continues to drive displacement. Activists told Darfur24 that about 1,700 families, roughly 8,000 people, who fled fighting in Qaysan locality are sheltering in forests and makeshift sites. They said a community kitchen feeding them had closed for lack of supplies. UN figures cited by Darfur24 show about 120,000 people displaced across Blue Nile between 11 January and 15 October 2026, including 40,090 from Qaysan.
Image: The Roseires Dam on the Blue Nile at Ed Damazin, capital of Blue Nile state, 2019. Mohamed grgory, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.