The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced on Monday that they had lifted the siege on Dilling, the second-largest city in South Kordofan State, following a large-scale “successful operation” that ended nearly two years of blockade imposed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.
Al-Yurae:
In an official statement, the army said its forces had “forcibly reopened the Dilling road after a decisive military operation that defeated and destroyed the Dagalo militia (RSF)”, noting that the besieging forces had disrupted civilian movement and supply lines while threatening security and stability in the region.
The military added that its troops inflicted “heavy human and material losses” on the adversaries, with surviving fighters fleeing the area under sustained strikes from the army.
Parallel operations resulted in new territorial gains, including the recapture of the Sellik area in the Blue Nile region and the downing of RSF drones targeting Dilling. The Sudanese Fourth Infantry Division described its actions as a “well-coordinated operation” that repelled RSF and SPLM-N forces near the Ethiopian border.
Eyewitnesses told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that Sudanese forces entered Dilling amid widespread public celebrations, with residents flooding the streets to welcome the army a moment captured in multiple videos shared online.
The RSF and SPLM-N had besieged Dilling since January 2024, creating a severe humanitarian crisis due to blocked access to food and medicine. Fighting has recently intensified across the Kordofan region, displacing tens of thousands of people.
Military sources said the army also regained control of Habila in South Kordofan, a key agricultural zone, paving the way for further advances toward Kadugli, the state capital that remains encircled by RSF units.
Analysts view the liberation of Dilling as a turning point that allows the army to establish a logistical base for further operations and reconnect ground supply routes from Rahah in North Kordofan, facilitating troop and supply movements.
Meanwhile, West Darfur’s governor accused RSF forces of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in the region—an allegation echoing repeated warnings from rights groups and the United Nations about atrocities in Darfur, especially following the RSF’s capture of El Fasher last October.
According to the UN, the conflict ongoing since April 2023 has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with tens of thousands dead and some 13 million people displaced.
Despite the violence, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than three million displaced Sudanese had recently returned home, even as many areas continue to suffer from famine and insecurity.