Sudan army says retakes key southern city from paramilitaries

In a statement, the army said troops had "cleansed" the city of Umm Rawaba of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Umm Rawaba sits on a key highway linking North Kordofan to central Sudan. It is the state's second-largest city and is located about 480 kilometres (298 miles) southwest of the capital Khartoum.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his erstwhile ally Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the RSF.

The recapture of Umm Rawaba comes as the army was also reporting advances in Khartoum North (Bahri).

A military source told AFP on Wednesday that the army had regained full control over central and southern Bahri, including a bridge linking it to central Khartoum.

Last week, the army broke a siege of its headquarters in Khartoum by the RSF, which had encircled it since the war broke out.

Retaking the General Command was the army's biggest victory in the capital since reclaiming Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city on the Nile's west bank, nearly a year ago.

It also follows other recent gains.

Earlier this month, army troops regained control of Wad Madani, just south of Khartoum, securing a key crossroads between the capital and surrounding states.