The Sudanese troops claims to have broken a siege by Rapid Support Forces in Kadugli, the capital of the central region of Kordofan, which was imposed by the paramilitary group early in the country’s nearly three-year of war.
This potentially provides tens of thousands of people a reprieve from famine and signaling a shift in the war’s momentum.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced millions, drawn in regional powers and caused a vast humanitarian crisis since it broke out in April 2023.
The war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to UN figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.
The conflict created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with over 14 million people forced to flee their homes. It fueled disease outbreaks and pushed parts of the country into famine, including Kadugli.
The army said in a statement, “With God’s help and guidance, your Sudanese Armed Forces and supporting forces have succeeded in opening the Kadugli-Dalanj road, after a heroic battle.”
“The remnants of the militia and its mercenaries were defeated under the crushing blows, suffering heavy losses in lives and equipment.”
Sudan’s army
Military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan said in televised comments, “I have no other statement than to say to the Sudanese people, congratulations for the opening of the road to Kadugli.”
“Congratulations to our people in Kadugli for the arrival of the armed forces. The armed forces will reach anywhere in Sudan.”
Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan
Al-Burhan insisted that the military government of Sudan supports peace efforts but will not agree to a truce with the RSF, with which it has been fighting a vicious civil war since April 2023, while cities are under siege. “There will be no truce that would strengthen the enemy. There will be no ceasefire that would allow this militia to stand on its feet again,” he said.
RSF, which has been blockading Kadugli, alongside the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North, since the start of the war.
Kadugli and nearby al-Dalanj had been under siege on and off since the start of the war. There was an escalation in fighting after the SPLM-N, which controls territory in the state and elsewhere, joined forces with the RSF last year. The army broke the siege of al-Dalanj last week.
The RSF launched a drone attack today that hit a medical center in Kadugli, killing five children and three women, according to Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the war. The drone struck the al-Shartai Health Center, in the Hajar Al-Nour neighborhood, and injured 11 other people.
Kadugli Mired With Worsening Humanitarian Crisis
Miji Park, a Director of the Sudan With Mercy Corps aid group, said communities in and around Kadugli has been isolated, with a “near-total cut-off from essential services, and worsening humanitarian conditions.”
He said that these communities have survived years of hardship and “cannot afford to be forgotten,” and called for the international community to scale up humanitarian assistance to the region and “not to wait for perfect conditions to act.”
In Kadugli, the siege caused famine conditions confirmed by a global hunger monitor last year, and in both cities civilians were subjected to devastating drone attacks that have continued since the sieges were broken, residents said.
Jan Egeland, Head of Norwegian Refugee Council, said that he witnessed “massive, unchecked suffering” among those who fled Kadugli to camps in SPLM-N territory.
Few aid agencies remain active in Kadugli or elsewhere in South Kordofan. The siege has driven up prices, according to local aid workers, with a kilo of flour reaching 80,000 Sudanese pounds (about $22).
That has put food out of reach for many, forcing them to eat leaves, while medicine and doctors are scarce, the aid workers said. According to the United Nations, more than 80% of Kadugli’s population, or some 147,000 people, have fled.
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