Sudan army breaks two-year siege of Dilling with off-road offensive

KADUGLI – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) broke a nearly two-and-a-half-year siege of the strategic town of Dilling in South Kordofan on Monday, bypassing main highways controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to open a new supply line, the military said.

The operation marks the first sustained relief of the garrison since it was encircled in 2023. Videos reviewed and geolocated by the Sudans Post showed army pickup vehicles entering the town, signaling a rare tactical victory for the SAF in the embattled Kordofan region.

Rather than launching a frontal assault on the El-Obeid–Debeibat highway—a primary supply corridor heavily patrolled by the RSF—army units utilized desert routes to the east.

Forces advancing from North Kordofan and eastern garrisons converged near Habila before pushing west into Dilling, outflanking paramilitary positions.

“Our armed forces and supporting units have succeeded in forcibly and decisively opening the Dilling road,” the Sudanese military said in a statement, claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on RSF troops and forced a retreat.

The army described the operation as a “decisive outcome” aimed at restoring stability to the region.

The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dilling, a commercial hub inhabited predominantly by Nuba communities, is vital for linking North and South Kordofan and accessing the state capital, Kadugli.

The town had been choked off by a joint blockade enforced by the RSF and the SPLM-North faction led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu. Formerly maintaining a stance of armed neutrality, Al-Hilu’s forces entered a political-military alignment with the RSF in February 2025 under the banner of the Sudan Founding Alliance.

While the main highway remains contested and unsafe for regular logistics, the army’s multi-axis maneuver has punctured the outer ring of the siege.

The breakthrough involved three coordinated columns, units moving south from North Kordofan, forces moving west from Abu Kershola, and troops from the 14^th Infantry Division in Abu Jubeiha. These forces linked up at Habila, approximately 50 km (30 miles) east of Dilling, before driving the final stretch to the town.