Trending 
Sudanese forces have broken a prolonged paramilitary siege on Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state, according to two army sources who spoke to AFP on Tuesday.
“Our forces have entered Kadugli and lifted the siege,” one source said on condition of anonymity, noting they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Kadugli has been encircled for much of Sudan’s nearly three-year conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023. The city, where the United Nations confirmed famine conditions last year, had been surrounded by RSF fighters and their local allies from a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz El-Hilu.
The same alliance had previously besieged the nearby town of Dilling, which the UN also identified as experiencing famine-like conditions. Army troops reportedly broke through that encirclement in late January.
“After fierce battles on the road between Dilling and Kadugli, our forces defeated the RSF and their supporting Hilu militia, inflicting heavy losses upon them,” a second army source told AFP.
The developments mark a significant shift in what has become one of the war’s most volatile front lines. South Kordofan has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting in recent months, compounding an already severe humanitarian crisis.
Since the conflict began, tens of thousands of people have been killed and an estimated 11 million displaced across the country. In southern Kordofan alone, hundreds of thousands are facing acute food shortages, contributing to what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest hunger and displacement emergency.
Independent verification of battlefield claims remains difficult as access to affected areas is limited and communications are frequently disrupted.
