Sudan army breaks siege over strategic southern state capital

Port Sudan, Sudan (AFP) — The Sudanese army said Sunday it had broken a paramilitary siege on a key southern state capital, the latest in a series of military gains across the country.

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, has been hemmed in by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since its war with the regular army erupted in April 2023.

In a statement, army spokesperson Nabil Abdallah said that their forces had “managed to reopen the road to El-Obeid and merge” with soldiers east of the city.

El-Obeid — the heart of Sudan’s Kordofan region — sits at a crucial crossroads connecting the capital Khartoum to the country’s western region of Darfur, which the RSF has all but conquered.

“El-Obeid’s strategic importance, especially its airport and its position linking western Sudan with the center and south, makes today’s operation one of the most critical militarily,” an army source told Agence France-Presse (AFP), requesting anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media.

For nearly two years, the conflict in Sudan has pitted army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the RSF.

The war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million and created the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded” according to the International Rescue Committee.

Inside the city, thousands of residents took to the streets to celebrate, witnesses told AFP.

“Lifting the siege brings life back to the city,” said Ahmed Hussein, a 53-year-old trader in El-Obeid.

He told AFP that residents have suffered for a year and a half from shortages of goods and medicine under the siege.