Videos | Sudanese Army Restores Khartoum–El Obeid Road Link

RSF suffers major defeat in North Kordofan, loses Al-Sadarat Highway.

The Sudanese Armed Forces launched one of its largest offensives of the year on Saturday, capturing a series of towns and villages along the strategic Al-Sadarat Highway in North Kordofan. The road, also known as the Al-Ingaz Al-Gharbi Highway, links the capital Khartoum region with El Obeid through Jabra al-Sheikh and Bara.

By Sunday morning, army-aligned forces had taken the main settlements along the route, restoring a direct road link that had been cut since the outbreak of the civil war in April 2023.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized large sections of the highway during the early stages of the conflict after advancing across several strategic towns and transport corridors. Its control of Bara and areas farther north helped isolate El Obeid from the direction of Khartoum and allowed the paramilitary group to maintain pressure on the North Kordofan capital.

The highway also provided the RSF with a route for moving fighters and supplies between its positions in Kordofan and areas closer to Omdurman.

In May 2025, the army partially broke the siege of El Obeid after forces advanced from White Nile State through Al-Rahad, Umm Rwaba and areas east of the city. That operation reopened an alternative supply corridor and reduced some of the pressure on El Obeid. However, the military continued to rely on the longer route through White Nile because the RSF still controlled the more direct Al-Sadarat Highway north of the city.

The RSF continued to hold Bara, Gereij, Umm Girfa, Jabra al-Sheikh and other towns despite repeated attacks by the army and its allies. Those operations involved the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements, Islamist-aligned formations and local groups fighting alongside the military.

Several previous advances failed to produce lasting gains after RSF fighters withdrew from towns and later returned through surrounding villages and desert tracks.

Saturday’s offensive involved coordinated advances from the north and south. One army column moved south from Rahid al-Nuba through villages east of the highway, while another formation pushed north from El Obeid. Army-aligned forces captured Umm Sayalla, Bara and Jabra al-Sheikh during the initial advance before entering Gereij and Umm Girfa on Sunday morning.

The gains restore the main road connection between El Obeid and army-held territory Khartoum state, but the highway may not yet be fully secure. RSF fighters may remain in villages located only a short distance from the road and could still attack military convoys or temporarily cut sections of the route.

The army would need to clear and hold those surrounding areas before regular civilian and military movement could resume safely.

That task could be difficult because many of the side roads in the area are narrow, unpaved and unsuitable for heavy military vehicles. The terrain allows small RSF units to move between villages and desert tracks without remaining on the main highway, while making pursuit by larger army formations more difficult.

The following videos reviewed and geolocated by Sudan War Monitor confirm the presence of army and allied forces in the main towns, but lasting control of the corridor will depend on their ability to secure the countryside and prevent another RSF counterattack.

Jabra Al-Sheikh Locality

In this video, a member of the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements is seen driving east from Jabra al-Sheikh Market toward the highway. The footage shows that the market had been looted and extensively damaged. Sudan War Monitor geolocated the video to 14°33’40.04”N 30°44’55.99”E.

In this video, a Sudanese army soldier (not seen) is filming inside Jabra al-Sheikh Hospital. The facility appears to have been looted and extensively damaged, and may have been used as a position or shelter by RSF fighters. Sudan War Monitor geolocated the footage to the hospital near the town’s cemetery at 14°33’38.16”N, 30°45’34.55”E.

In this video, members of the Joint Force are seen entering what appears to be an RSF ammunition store. The footage is said to have been recorded in Jabra al-Sheikh, although Sudan War Monitor was unable to geolocate it. However, no earlier version of the video was found online, suggesting that it was newly filmed and posted.

In this video, a member of the Joint Force is seen in Gereij, an administrative unit under Jabra al-Sheikh Locality located 60 kilometers south of Jabra al-Sheikh town. Sudan War Monitor geolocated the footage to 14°1’23.77”N, 30°28’2.42”E.

In this video, a member of the Joint Force is seen outside Umm Girfa Hospital. Umm Girfa is part of Jabra al-Sheikh Locality and lies approximately 18 kilometres south of Jabra al-Sheikh town. Sudan War Monitor geolocated the footage to 14°25'12.20"N, 30°38'27.64"E.

Bara Locality

In this video, a Sudanese Armed Forces soldier is seen outside a building in central Bara, immediately north of a fuel station. Sudan War Monitor geolocated the footage to 13°41’59.97”N, 30°22’0.27”E.

In this video, SAF-aligned militia commander Abu Aqla Keikel is seen near the same location shown above, but slightly farther north. Sudan War Monitor geolocated the footage to 13°42’4.47”N, 30°21’59.69”E.

In this video, a member of the Joint Force speaks in the middle of the road south of Bara (13°41’12.80”N 30°21’55.19”E). He describes the RSF as consisting of mercenaries from Chad, Libya, and Ethiopia, backed by the UAE — a common theme of RSF opponents, who seek to portray the RSF as foreign and not a legitimate rival to the existing Sudanese authorities.

In this video, members of the Joint Force are seen driving through the main road in central Bara saying they are inside the town. This video is geolocated to this location 13°42’0.96”N 30°22’0.39”E.