The Sudanese army has said it had broken a long‑running siege of Dilling, a city in the country's south, where paramilitary forces had choked off access for more than a year and a half.
In its statement on Monday, the army said its forces "succeeded in opening the Dilling road after carrying out a successful military operation," saying they had inflicted "heavy losses" on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The army vowed "to continue cleansing the country of the paramilitary RSF until security and stability are restored across the country."
If confirmed, the advance would secure the army's hold over both the northern and southern approaches to Dilling, located in South Kordofan state.
The city lies halfway between Kadugli — the besieged state capital — and El‑Obeid, the capital of neighbouring North Kordofan, which the RSF has sought to encircle.
Videos shared on social media showed army forces, said to be in Dilling, celebrating atop pick-up trucks as people ululated and cheered alongside them.
Sweeping offensive
The push around Dilling comes as the army attempts to stem a sweeping paramilitary advance across the wider Kordofan region.
Since seizing the army's last stronghold in western Darfur last October, the RSF has shifted its focus eastward, aided by its local allies, namely the Sudan People's Liberation Movement‑North faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.
Since then, the paramilitary group has tightened its grip on West Kordofan, taken Heglig — home to Sudan's largest oil field — and intensified its siege of Kadugli.
A UN-backed assessment last year already confirmed famine in Kadugli, which has been under RSF siege for more than a year and a half.
The assessment said conditions in Dilling were likely similar, but security issues and a lack of access have prevented a formal declaration.
The UN has repeatedly cautioned that atrocities similar to those reported during the RSF aggression in Al Fasher — including mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and widespread looting — could spread into Kordofan.
More than 65,000 people have fled the Kordofan region since October, according to the latest UN figures.
Those escaping, particularly from South Kordofan, face "long and uncertain journeys" lasting up to 30 days and sleep "wherever they can", according to Mercy Corps, one of the few aid groups operating there.
