Khartoum: Head of Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stated that army forces have lifted a siege placed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state. This development marks a significant shift in the region's ongoing conflict.

According to Anadolu Agency, Burhan announced that the army successfully reopened the road to Kadugli, reaching residents who had been under siege for months. Burhan expressed his congratulations to the Sudanese people and specifically to the residents of Kadugli on the arrival of the armed forces, promising that the military would extend its reach to any location in Sudan.

The siege, imposed by the RSF and their ally, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), had been in place since the onset of the conflict with the army on April 15, 2023. Earlier reports from military sources indicated that army forces and allied groups entered Kadugli following clashes with the RSF and SPLM-N, effectively breaking the siege on the state's largest city.

There has been no immediate response from the RSF regarding these developments. The army's recent advancement follows a similar operation that broke a siege on Dilling, the second-largest city in South Kordofan.

In the broader context of the conflict, the RSF controls all five states in the western Darfur region, except for parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. Conversely, the army maintains control over the majority of the remaining 13 states, spanning the south, north, east, and center of Sudan, including the capital, Khartoum.