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Port Sudan: The Sudanese army said on Friday it broke a siege of its headquarters in Khartoum by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which had encircled it since war broke out in April 2023.
In a statement, the army said troops in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman across the Nile River had "merged with our forces stationed at the General Command of the Armed Forces", with a military source confirming that "the arrival of the forces from Bahri completely lifted the siege on the command".
The army added that it had "expelled" the RSF from the Jaili oil refinery north of the capital, the country's largest, which the paramilitary had claimed control of since the start of the war.
Since the outbreak of the war with Sudan's army in April 2023 the RSF had encircled both the Signal Corps in Khartoum North and the General Command of the Armed Forces, its headquarters just south across the Blue Nile river.
"Our forces were able to lift the siege on the Signal Corps," a military source in the Sudanese army told AFP.
With a months-long communications blackout in place, AFP was not able to independently verify the situation on the ground.
"This victory opens the way to link our forces in Bahri (Khartoum North) with our forces in the General Command," the military source said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
