Sudan: Army regains control of crucial highway according to military sources

On Monday, two military sources reported that the Sudanese army had regained control of a crucial highway linking the country's capital to the city of El Obeid.

The development comes after the army's rival paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had been amassing troops around El Obeid for months.

The RSF has now been pushed west of the highway. El Obeid is located at a strategic crossroads: its north-south highway runs to the capital, while its east-west route links RSF strongholds in the Darfur region to the army-controlled centre and east of the country.

Although the highway to Khartoum is still closed to civilians, the army's advance has opened a second supply route to El Obeid, according to a military source.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in April 2023. Aid workers estimate that it has since claimed more than 200,000 lives.

It has also triggered the world's largest hunger crisis.