Sudan army recaptures key Kordofan road amid RSF escalation threats

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied Islamist militias have retaken control of the main supply route linking El‑Obeid and Khartoum, securing a roughly 400‑kilometre logistics corridor in North Kordofan. The advance forced the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to withdraw westward, allowing the army chief General Abdel Fattah al‑Burhane to move into former RSF strongholds.

RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) warned in a video message that his fighters would no longer hold back, raising fears of intensified fighting. Concurrently, RSF accusations claim the SAF used chemical weapons in the area, prompting a U.S. determination that the Sudanese government employed such agents in 2024 and imposing sanctions under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act. Both parties deny the allegations.

The conflict, now in its second year, has caused an estimated 200,000 deaths and forced more than 11 million Sudanese to flee, with the United Nations describing it as the country’s worst humanitarian crisis. The recapture of the Khartoum‑El‑Obeid axis is expected to improve the flow of essential goods to a region still suffering severe shortages.