# SAF recaptures Malken in Blue Nile state as Sudan's eastern front intensifies
> Sudanese Armed Forces took Malken on June 26 in a push along the Blue Nile, opening a new axis against RSF and allied SPLM-N forces as fighting in North Kordofan and Darfur continues

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-26 · heads: How Wars Actually End, What They're Not Saying · 5 takes · 3 lenses · 4 regions

## Summary

Sudan's Sudanese Armed Forces recaptured Malken in Blue Nile state on June 26, the latest gain in a campaign to open an eastern axis against [RSF](/en/entity/rapid-support-forces) and its allied Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. The SAF has used drone and air superiority on the Blue Nile front to compensate for infantry gaps. The advance comes as RSF simultaneously seized Furuawiya in North Darfur, where 563,000 civilians remain trapped around [el-Obeid](/en/n/sudan-el-obeid-rsf-assault-2026). Blue Nile borders South Sudan and Ethiopia, adding regional spillover risk.

## Why it matters

Blue Nile state has shifted from a peripheral front to a strategic one: SAF holds the north and east while RSF controls Darfur, making the south-eastern corridor both a supply line and a diplomatic lever with Addis Ababa. Gains there complicate RSF logistics and add a second pressure axis beyond Khartoum.

## What to watch

- Whether Ethiopia's government, which has its own tensions with Khartoum, allows SAF to use Sudanese territory abutting the Ethiopian border as a staging ground.
- RSF counter-attacks on the Blue Nile line or further advances in North Darfur to draw SAF back.
- UN OCHA access: any humanitarian corridor through Blue Nile remains blocked by active combat.
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## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### independent Sudan-focused news
- **Sudan Tribune** (Sudan / France, en) — Sudan Tribune confirms SAF recapture of Malken in Blue Nile state on June 26, framing it as part of SAF's strategy to relieve pressure on the Khartoum axis by opening an eastern front against RSF-aligned forces and SPLM-N al-Hilu, who hold rugged terrain near the Ethiopian border.
  > "Sudanese armed forces claimed gains in Blue Nile as the army seeks to widen pressure on the Rapid Support Forces."
  Source: https://sudantribune.com/article/309846

### diaspora independent, human rights focus
- **Dabanga Sudan** (Netherlands / Sudan diaspora, en) — Dabanga pairs the Blue Nile SAF advance with RSF gains elsewhere, notably RSF capturing Furuawiya in North Darfur on the same day, illustrating the conflict's multi-front nature. Notes SAF drone and airpower superiority on the Blue Nile front compensates for infantry disadvantage.
  > "The SAF captured Malken in Blue Nile state as the RSF simultaneously seized Furuawiya in North Darfur, underscoring the multi-front nature of the conflict."
  Source: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudanese-armed-forces-claim-gains-in-blue-nile-as-rsf-take-furuawiya-in-north-darfur

### unlabelled
- **Wikipedia (2026 Blue Nile campaign)** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Blue_Nile_campaign
- **Sudan's Post** (Sudan, en) — 
  Source: https://www.sudanspost.com/territorial-control-map-sudan-conflict-as-of-june-21-2026/
- **ACLED** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://acleddata.com/report/blue-nile-peripheral-front-central-battleground-sudan-conflict

## Across the graph
- Related: [[sudan-el-obeid-rsf-assault-2026]], [[sudan-famine-displacement-crisis]], [[sudan-rsf-banknotes-jun25]], [[uae-rsf-sudan-arms-senate]]
- Entities: Sudan War, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sudan-saf-blue-nile-jun26