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

Capture of Al Sadarat road volition assistance the Sudanese service artifact the RSF’s propulsion to prehend el-Obeid successful North Kordofan.

The Sudanese service has announced that it has regained afloat power of a large road linking the capital, Khartoum, with el-Obeid, a metropolis that has been nether siege by the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The seizure of Al Sadarat road connected Sunday volition assistance the Sudanese service determination troops, weapons, substance and supplies, and volition besides artifact the RSF’s propulsion to prehend el-Obeid, the superior of North Kordofan state.

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About fractional a cardinal radical are trapped successful the city, wherever the United Nations has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe, with residents facing aggravated RSF drone attacks.

In a connection connected Sunday, the Sudanese service said it had recaptured cities and towns betwixt Khartoum and el-Obied pursuing 2 days of fierce battles with the RSF, which controlled the highway.

The attacks marked the archetypal large violative against the paramilitary successful months.

The service said its troops retook the areas of Um Qurfa and Jarigakh aft operations that “inflicted dense losses successful lives and instrumentality [of RSF fighters], forcing them to flee”.

“With this victory, the forces person taken power of the export way of Omdurman Al-Abyd”, the service said, referring to the Al Sadarat highway.

Improved humanitarian access

Al Jazeera’s AlMigdad Alruhaid said the seizure of the road restores “a nonstop transportation betwixt the superior and Kordofan for the archetypal clip successful months”.

“This is important due to the fact that the road is simply a cardinal subject proviso route,” Alruhaid said.

“It allows the service to determination fuel, troops and instrumentality much rapidly to el-Obeid alternatively of relying connected the longer way done the White Nile State. And the determination besides reduces unit connected el-Obeid, which has been mostly isolated by RSF positions, portion perchance opening an important commercialized way for livestock and cultivation products from the Kordofan region,” helium added.

“For civilians, securing this roadworthy could besides amended humanitarian entree to communities affected by this ongoing war.”

The RSF had controlled astir of the 350km (217-mile) strategical road since April 2023, erstwhile the struggle betwixt the Sudanese service and the RSF erupted owed to disagreements astir integrating the paramilitary unit into the nationalist army.

Losing power of the way volition hinder the RSF’s thrust to instrumentality el-Obeid – a metropolis whose seizure would springiness the paramilitary unit power of each of occidental Sudan.

The conflict has killed an estimated 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and forced much than 14 cardinal radical to fly their homes.

In el-Obeid, UN Women said past week that women and girls “now look an intolerable prime implicit thing arsenic basal arsenic a bucket of water: hazard a drone onslaught by collecting it successful daylight, oregon hazard rape by waiting until dark”.

It added that intersexual unit has been utilized arsenic a limb passim Sudan’s three-year war, with testimonies describing rape committed successful beforehand of household members alongside brutal carnal abuse.