Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Wednesday its fighters seized a strategic zone on the border with Egypt and Libya, as the regular army announced its withdrawal from the region.

The announcements came a day after the army accused forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar of launching a cross-border attack alongside the RSF, the first allegation of direct Libyan involvement in the Sudanese war.

"As part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression, our forces today evacuated the triangle area overlooking the borders between Sudan, Egypt and Libya," army spokesperson Nabil Abdallah said in a statement.

Since April 2023, the war in Sudan has pitted army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his erstwhile ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the RSF.

Broad implications

The RSF said in a statement its fighters "liberated the strategic triangle area", adding that army forces had retreated southward "after suffering heavy losses."

It also said the operation would have broad implications "across several combat fronts, especially in the northern desert."

A military source told AFP on condition of anonymity that clashes in the border triangle "started three days ago" when the RSF and Libyan forces loyal to Haftar attacked the army-aligned Joint Forces.

The triangle area, a mountain range spanning about 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles), has long been known for mining activity and cross-border trade.

'Leverage over supply routes'

A former army officer told AFP on condition of anonymity that RSF control of the area gives it "leverage over supply routes" running across the Libyan-Sudanese border.

He added that the nearest military presence of the Sudanese army to the northeast lies about 400 kilometres from the triangle.

"This distance could pose a threat to areas in northern Sudan," he added.

In its statement, the RSF called the area "a central hub for trade and transport between northern and eastern Africa", claiming that it "contains rich natural resources, including oil, gas and minerals."

Heavy attacks

The area is also situated north of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where fighting between the army and the RSF has escalated in recent weeks.

El-Fasher, the only state capital in the western Darfur region still under army control, and its nearby displacement camps have been heavily attacked since the army took control of Khartoum in March.

Since the fall of Khartoum, the RSF has adopted a twin strategy of long-range drone strikes on army-held cities plus counter-attacks to recapture territory in the south.

The army on Tuesday called the RSF's coordinated attack with Haftar's troops on its border positions "a blatant aggression against Sudan" and part of a broader foreign-backed "conspiracy."

Libya responds to Sudan

In a statement on Wednesday, the Libyan foreign ministry did not deny Tripoli's involvement in the attack, but said it was committed to respecting "international law regulations" and "non-interference in domestic affairs of other countries."

Libya "is keen to spare the region further tension and to address any issues through peaceful means and bilateral or collective consultation mechanisms that serve common interests," the ministry said.

Haftar, who controls eastern Libya, has long maintained close ties with both the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

While Cairo has supported Sudan's leadership under Burhan since the war began in April 2023, Khartoum has repeatedly accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with weapons – claims the Emirati government denies.

Tensions between Sudan and UAE

Tensions between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi escalated in May after drone strikes hit the wartime capital of Port Sudan for the first time since the outbreak of the war.

After the attacks, Sudan severed its diplomatic ties with the UAE and declared it an "aggressor state."

The war has effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the centre, east and north, while the paramilitaries and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.

The fighting has killed thousands of people and displaced 13 million others, including four million who fled abroad, triggering what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Efforts by international mediators to halt the fighting have so far failed, with violence continuing to escalate across Darfur and the Kordofan region in the country's south.