Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Monday, 27 July 2026
Khartoum (Fides News Agency) – Sudan’s armed forces (SAF) have announced that they have regained control of the highway linking the capital, Khartoum, to El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, reopening a strategic transport corridor for key natural resources from central Sudan.The approximately 350-kilometre highway had been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. Until March 2025, the RSF also controlled Omdurman, on the outskirts of Khartoum.Since then, the SAF, backed by allied militias grouped under the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements, have steadily advanced, pushing the RSF beyond the capital’s perimeter and forcing them to retreat toward eastern Sudan.According to the commander of the Joint Force, the SAF have recaptured at least four towns along the Khartoum–El Obeid highway—also known as the Al-Sadarat Highway—from RSF miitiamen: Bara, Umm Girfa, Umm Sayalla and Jabra al-Sheikh.The SAF and their allies are now aiming to reach El Obeid, which remains under government control but has been besieged by the RSF for years, in an effort to break the encirclement that has left the city’s population facing acute shortages of food and medical supplies, while enduring persistent shelling by RSF forces (see Fides, 6/11/2025).In recent days, the RSF have intensified drone attacks on targets in and around the city, killing at least 15 people, according to local authorities.Since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023, the RSF have used areas north of El Obeid as forward operating bases to launch attacks, maintain pressure on the city and support operations around Omdurman. For the SAF, securing the highway represents a major strategic advantage: it allows them to reduce the distance between their positions in Khartoum and El Obeid, shortening the logistics chain and expanding the defensive perimeter west of the capital.Economically, restoring control over the Al-Sadarat Highway could also revive civilian trade. Before the war, the route served as a vital commercial artery for the transport of agricultural products, livestock, food supplies and other goods between Kordofan and the markets of Khartoum.Finally, Sudan’s internal conflict continues to take on the characteristics of a regional proxy war. The United Arab Emirates are widely regarded as the RSF’s principal backer, while Egypt and Türkiye support the SAF. Ankara, in particular, has supplied the Sudanese military with significant numbers of armed drones. (L.M.) (Fides News Agency, 27/7/2026)
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