Sudan army says two-year RSF siege of key town broken

Dilling, a key route for supply lines, had under the paramilitary group’s control for nearly two years.Published On 27 Jan 2026Sudan’s military says it has broken a nearly two-year siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a key town in the Kordofan region, gaining control over major supply lines.In a statement late on Monday, the military said it had opened a road leading to Kordofan" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="860" data-entity-type="location">South Kordofan province’s Dilling town.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Sudan’s army renewing military effort to retake Kordofan, Darfur from RSFlist 2 of 4Sudan’s people endure ‘horror and hell’ in war, says UN rights chieflist 3 of 4Sudan’s women break ‘traditional rules’ to survivelist 4 of 4Sudan: A truce of separationend of list“Our forces inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, both personal and equipment,” the statement said.There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been at war with the army for control of Sudan for nearly three years.Dilling lies halfway between Kadugli – the besieged state capital – and el-Obeid, the capital of neighbouring North Kordofan province, which the RSF has sought to encircle.Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, described the army’s takeover of Dilling as a “very significant gain” that may lead to more advances in the province.“The army is trying to make use of this momentum to take territory not just from the RSF, but also from its ally, the SPLM-N, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, which controls territory and has forces in Kordofan" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="860" data-entity-type="location">South Kordofan,” Morgan said.Paramilitary troops were likely to fight back and attempt to retake the lost territory by relocating fighters from el-Obeid and Kadugli, according to Morgan.Morgan added that the humanitarian situation in Dilling would likely improve as the army will now be able to bring in medical supplies, food and other commercial goods that had been prevented from entering during the RSF’s siege.Displaced people ride an animal-drawn cart in the town of Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan [Reuters]After being forced out of Khartoum in March, the RSF has focused on Kordofan and the city of el-Fasher, which was the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region until the RSF seized it in October.