KHARTOUM/DARFUR — A major escalation in the Sudanese conflict was reported on February 25, 2026, as RSF fighters consolidated their control over North Darfur by seizing Misteriha, the stronghold of influential tribal leader Musa Hilal. According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the assault involved heavy drone strikes and ground offensives that left at least 28 civilians dead and dozens more wounded. The RSF reportedly targeted medical facilities and torched civilian homes during the raid. In response to the intensifying pressure and international calls for a humanitarian truce, Sudanese Army Chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan delivered a defiant speech to graduating officers in Khartoum. Al-Burhan pledged to modernize the national army into a 'smart force' and vowed to fight until the RSF is either defeated or surrenders. The general rejected any proposals for power-sharing, insisting on a total military victory even as the RSF maintains its grip on parts of Kordofan and the western regions, leaving the country's capital, Khartoum, as a primary focal point of the ongoing territorial struggle.