Battle of Al-Baraka: SAF and RSF-SPLM-N Trade Competing Claims Over Blue Nile Garrison Town

SAF's Fourth Infantry Division and a joint RSF/SPLM-N (Toka faction) force clashed over Al-Baraka garrison town in southern Blue Nile State on June 3, 2026, with both sides issuing competing claims of control. The SAF announced it had repelled a large-scale joint assault, conducting a 'precise ambush' that destroyed RSF combat vehicles and inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking force. Simultaneously, pro-RSF social media platforms circulated videos purportedly showing RSF fighters inside an SAF base in Al-Baraka. Control remained actively contested through end of day, with no independent verification of either side's claims. Al-Baraka lies south of Ed Damazin in Blue Nile State — the same strategic corridor where SAF's 4th Division has been pushing back RSF-SPLM-N forces since the latter's capture of Kurmuk on March 23, 2026. SAF previously retook Muqja Station (April 21), Al-Kayli (May 10), Khor Hassan (May 16), and five Qaysan district towns (May 26) along this Blue Nile axis. An RSF-SPLM-N seizure of Al-Baraka would threaten the Roseires Dam and Ed Damazin city, while SAF's defense maintains the Blue Nile defensive perimeter protecting Sudan's critical hydroelectric infrastructure.