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Morning Edition · Monday, July 27, 2026Published at 1:10 AM EDT · New York

Sudan's Army Says It Has Retaken Highway Linking Khartoum and El Obeid

Control of the Al Sadarat highway would help the army block the Rapid Support Forces from seizing El Obeid in North Kordofan.

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Sudan's Army Says It Has Retaken Highway Linking Khartoum and El Obeid

Sudan's army said it had regained full control of the Al Sadarat highway connecting the capital Khartoum with the city of El Obeid, Al Jazeera reported. The army said the capture would help it block the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from advancing on El Obeid in North Kordofan.

In a separate report, Al Jazeera described the highway as a strategic supply route whose control shapes the movement of forces and goods across central Sudan. The claim came from the army and has not been independently verified, and the RSF has not confirmed the loss.

The fight for El Obeid is part of a broader war between the army and the RSF that has displaced millions and disrupted farming and trade across the country.

Part of a tracked trend

Sudan's War as Regional Instability

The Sudanese army and the RSF keep fighting over supply routes and cities, prolonging a war that destabilizes northeast Africa and disrupts food supply and Red Sea trade.

Veracity: Plausible
74/100
If true, who benefits

The Sudanese army and its external backers gain a battlefield narrative of momentum around El Obeid, while the Rapid Support Forces and their Gulf supporters have an interest in downplaying the loss.

The nuance

Several outlets report the army's advance along the Omdurman to El Obeid export corridor, but the claim of "full control" originates with the army, front lines shift quickly, and the Rapid Support Forces have not confirmed losing the route.

An open-source-intelligence read of how likely this story is true with its real nuance, not a judgment of any outlet. It assesses the claim, weighing independent and adversarial reporting. How we label confidence.

What this means

Control of highways determines whether food, fuel and fighters can move across Sudan, so each shift in the front line affects the supply of agricultural goods the country produces and the flow of aid to civilians. A war that continues near key routes keeps part of northeast Africa unstable, which matters for Red Sea trade, regional refugee flows and the Gulf states backing rival sides.

What to watch

  • Whether the army holds the highway or the RSF counterattacks, which decides the fate of El Obeid.
  • The effect on food and aid deliveries to central Sudan, a measure of the war's humanitarian and supply toll.

Observations to monitor, not financial advice.

2 sources

Synthesized from: Al Jazeera · Al Jazeera

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