Sudan’s army claims control of major highway linking Khartoum and el-Obeid 

The Sudanese army has announced that it has regained full control of a major highway linking the capital, Khartoum, with el-Obeid, a city that has been under siege by the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The capture of Al Sadarat highway on Sunday will help the Sudanese army move troops, weapons, fuel and supplies, and will also block the RSF’s push to seize el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

About half a million people are trapped in the city, where the United Nations has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe, with residents facing intense RSF drone attacks.

In a statement on Sunday, the Sudanese army said it had recaptured cities and towns between Khartoum and el-Obied following two days of fierce battles with the RSF, which controlled the highway.

The attacks marked the first major offensive against the paramilitary in months.

The army said its troops retook the areas of Um Qurfa and Jarigakh after operations that “inflicted heavy losses in lives and equipment [of RSF fighters], forcing them to flee”.

“With this victory, the forces have taken control of the export route of Omdurman Al-Abyd”, the army said, referring to the Al Sadarat highway.

Al Jazeera’s AlMigdad Alruhaid said the capture of the highway restores “a direct connection between the capital and Kordofan for the first time in months”.

“This is significant because the highway is a key military supply route,” Alruhaid said.

“It allows the army to move fuel, troops and equipment more quickly to el-Obeid instead of relying on the longer route through the White Nile State. And the move also reduces pressure on el-Obeid, which has been largely isolated by RSF positions, while potentially opening an important trade route for livestock and agricultural products from the Kordofan region,” he added.

“For civilians, securing this road could also improve humanitarian access to communities affected by this ongoing war.”

The RSF had controlled most of the 350km (217-mile) strategic highway since April 2023, when the conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted due to disagreements about integrating the paramilitary force into the national army.

Losing control of the route will hinder the RSF’s drive to take el-Obeid – a city whose capture would give the paramilitary force control of all of western Sudan.

The conflict has killed an estimated 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and forced more than 14 million people to flee their homes.

In el-Obeid, UN Women said last week that women and girls “now face an impossible choice over something as basic as a bucket of water: risk a drone strike by collecting it in daylight, or risk rape by waiting until dark”.

It added that sexual violence has been used as a weapon throughout Sudan’s three-year war, with testimonies describing rape committed in front of family members alongside brutal physical abuse.