The Sudanese army says it has broken a near two-year siege imposed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the key southern state capital of el-Obeid.
The breakthrough came hours after the RSF signed a political charter in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to establish a breakaway government in areas under its control.
The RSF and the army have been in a vicious battle for power since April 2023, with tens of thousands of people killed and millions forced from their homes.
The war has split the country, with the army controlling the north and the east while the RSF holds most of the Darfur region in the west and parts of the south.
El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, is a strategic hub connecting the capital, Khartoum, to Darfur. This is the latest army advance in recent weeks following the recapture of several parts of Khartoum from the RSF.
There was jubilation on the streets as Sudanese soldiers marched into the city.
A military spokesman, Nabil Abdallah, confirmed the gains in a statement, saying army forces had destroyed RSF units.
Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim said the move was a “massive step” in lifting the RSF siege of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, and would also allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Kordofan.
Sudanese civil society activist Dallia Abdlemoniem told the BBC Newsday programme that the recapture of the city ” was “huge” and “significant”.
She said the RSF had “held the civilians captive for nearly two years” in the city.
The situation there was “horrific”, she said, adding that there had been no medical or food aid in an area considered “to be very risky in terms of famine and malnutrition”. She said she hoped more aid would now be allowed in.
“Lifting the siege brings life back to the city,” Ahmed Hussein, a 53-year-old trader in el-Obeid, told the AFP news agency.
Ms Abdelmoniem said the army was “making serious groundwork in terms of moving towards the west, which is where the RSF is mainly centred”.
The latest fighting around el-Fasher has forced medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to halt operations at Zamzam, a famine-stricken camp nearby, which houses about 500,000 displaced people.
MSF said it was a “heartbreaking decision” but it had “little choice” because it was too dangerous for its staff to operate there.
Both the army and the RSF have been accused of committing grave atrocities against civilians during the war, with their leaders being sanctioned by the US. In addition, RSF has been accused of carrying out a genocide in Darfur.
Both deny the accusations.
Kenya’s hosting of the RSF last week as it sought to form a parallel government was criticised by some human rights groups.
On Sunday, Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ali Youssef said his country would “not accept” any country recognising “a so-called parallel government”.
Earlier, Sudan’s military government had warned it would take retaliatory measures against Kenya and has since recalled its ambassador from Nairobi.
In response, Kenya’s foreign ministry said there was “no ulterior motive” in “providing non-partisan platforms to conflict parties”.
