KHARTOUM/EL OBEID – Sudan’s Deputy Army Commander Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta said on Saturday that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had “no option but surrender,” as the Sudanese military announced fresh territorial gains in North Kordofan and the reopening of a strategic highway linking Omdurman with El Obeid.

Al-Atta said Sovereign Council Chairman and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan had ordered ground forces to continue advancing, with successive waves of troops deployed until military operations are completed.

He also claimed that foreign fighters from Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Ukraine, Colombia, Chad, Libya and Niger were fighting alongside the RSF. Al-Atta did not provide evidence for the claim, and the RSF did not immediately comment.

Separately, the SAF said troops from the 5th Infantry Division (Al-Hajana) advancing from El Obeid had linked up with forces operating along the Export Road after regaining control of areas on the highway connecting Khartoum State with North Kordofan.

According to the military, the link-up fully reopened the overland route between Omdurman and El Obeid, following operations to secure key positions along the corridor.

The announcement came a day after the SAF and the Joint Force of the Armed Movements said they had recaptured Bara, Umm Sayala, Jabra Al-Sheikh, Umm Garfa, Umm Dam Haj Ahmed and Al-Baraka as part of an offensive aimed at restoring government control across North Kordofan.

The Export Road is one of Sudan’s most important transport corridors, linking the capital with Kordofan and Darfur. The route has been heavily contested throughout the conflict because it serves as a vital artery for civilian trade, humanitarian access and military logistics.

Since the Sudanese military regained control of Khartoum earlier this year, it has shifted much of its operational focus toward Kordofan and Darfur, where fighting with the RSF remains intense. Recent operations have sought to reopen strategic roads, secure supply lines and increase pressure on RSF-held positions in western Sudan.

The conflict between the SAF and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and triggered what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.