Sudan army gains could mark turning point in war against RSF: expert

Sudan's army has reopened a strategic supply route between the besieged city of El-Obeid and Omdurman after recapturing several key towns, in what an expert told The New Arab is a "highly significant development" that could pave the way for a broader offensive against the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied units seized the towns of Bara, Jabra al-Sheikh, Umm Sayala and Umm Qarfa on Sunday in "well-planned military operations and fierce battles".

The Centre for Information Resilience confirmed to The New Arab that Sudanese army forces were present in Bara, Umm Qarfa and Jabra al-Sheikh following the advance.

According to Nohad Eltayeb, Senior Research Assistant at ACLED, retaking the towns marks a turning point in the conflict by reopening a major road linking El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, with Omdurman, west of Khartoum.

"The capture of these towns is a highly significant development," Eltayeb told The New Arab, describing the route as "a far more efficient supply line than the previous route through White Nile State."

El-Obeid, which had been under a partial RSF siege, has relied on a single supply corridor through neighbouring White Nile State that has repeatedly come under drone attack. The road to Omdurman had remained under RSF control since the outbreak of the war, allowing the paramilitary group to restrict army movements and tighten pressure on the city.

"This newly secured corridor strengthens the army's ability to break the siege on the region east of El-Obeid and hold the city against a renewed RSF assault," Eltayeb said.

The fighting around El-Obeid and repeated RSF drone attacks on humanitarian and civilian supply routes had prompted warnings from the UN and aid organisations that the city risked suffering the same fate as El-Fasher.

The RSF's capture of El-Fasher earlier this year completed its takeover of Darfur and was followed by massacres and widespread atrocities against civilians.

Eltayeb said the latest advance also leaves the RSF in a more vulnerable position as it fights on multiple fronts in Darfur and Kordofan.

"The advance also positions the SAF to push west toward West Kordofan, pressuring the RSF to retreat to Darfur," she said.

The Sudanese military said the RSF suffered heavy losses during the offensive, claiming 73 armoured vehicles were destroyed.

Sudanese army sources also told The New Arab that clearing operations were continuing across the newly captured territory.