Sudanese Army ends RSF’s two-year siege of El Obeid in North Kordofan
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) – The Sudanese army said on Sunday that it had broken a nearly two-year siege imposed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state, linking its forces advancing from White Nile state with those already stationed inside the city.
A Sudanese media outlet, Sudan Tribune, reported on Monday that in recent weeks, the army’s “Al-Sayyad” mobile force, largely composed of soldiers from the 16th Infantry Division based in Nyala, South Darfur, seized Um Rawaba and Al-Rahd, then advanced through the Al-Ghar and Kordofan Mountains to El Obeid, the 5th Infantry Division’s headquarters.
“Thanks to God, our forces on the Al-Sayyad axis succeeded in opening the road to El Obeid and joining forces with the ‘Lions of the Camel Corps,'” Sudan Tribune quoted Brigadier Nabil Abdallah, the Sudanese army spokesperson, as saying in a statement, officially declaring the end of the 22-month siege.
It said Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers released video footage of the moment troops from White Nile state met with those inside El Obeid.
“The 5th Division commander welcomed the arriving soldiers at the city’s entrance,” Sudan Tribune reported.
El Obeid, Um Rawaba, and Al-Rahd residents celebrated the siege’s end.
The publication said RSF's siege caused a humanitarian crisis in El Obeid, with severe shortages of essential goods due to restrictions on aid and commercial convoys.
Since the outbreak of war on 15 April, 2023, the RSF has sought to seize El Obeid, a strategically vital city linking Kordofan and Darfur states with the capital, Khartoum and central states.
“The city’s airport is also sometimes used for military purposes. Despite intense fighting, the RSF failed to capture El Obeid due to the army’s staunch defence.
“El Obeid, the North Kordofan capital, is now expected to become a key forward operating base for military operations in western Sudan,” according to military leaders.
After nearly two years of conflict, a staggering 12 million people in Sudan and across borders have been displaced, the UN has reported.
The UN a few days ago launched launched an appeal for $6 billion to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in the devastated country and beyond as more than one in two people in war-torn Sudan have too little to eat, famine “is taking hold” and sexual violence is rife.
“Civilians (are) paying the highest price, shelling, airstrikes [are] continuing unabated, killing and injuring civilians, damaging and destroying critical infrastructure, including hospitals,” said Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.
“An epidemic of sexual violence rages,” he warned, adding that children are being killed and injured, amid reports of intensifying fighting in South Kordofan in recent weeks - “another state in which famine conditions have recently been confirmed”.
The army SAF and RSF and their allies have been accused of committing grave atrocities against civilians during the war. Both their leaders -- Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the SAF, and Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemedti' Dagalo of RSF – have been sanctioned by the US.
-0- PANA MA 24Feb2025
