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Sudan's army has regained control of the Al Sadarat highway, a key route linking the capital, Khartoum, to the besieged city of El-Obeid, reopening a major supply line after months of fighting.
Two military sources told AFP on Monday that the advance pushed rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters west of North Kordofan's capital.
The army announced it secured the highway on Sunday, a move expected to ease the movement of troops, weapons, fuel and other supplies while disrupting the RSF's push to capture El-beid.
Military forces also recaptured several towns between Khartoum and El-Obeid after two days of heavy fighting, the army said. Troops retook Um Qurfa and Jarigakh, inflicting what it described as heavy losses on RSF fighters and forcing them to pull back.
Around 500,000 people remain trapped in El-Obeid, where the United Nations has warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis as RSF drone attacks continue.
The RSF had controlled most of the Al Sadarat highway since April 2023, when war erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary force over plans to integrate the RSF into the national military. The conflict quickly spread across the country, turning into one of Africa's deadliest wars.
Losing the highway is expected to hamper the RSF's attempt to seize El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and a strategic gateway between central and western Sudan.
Capturing the city would strengthen the group's control over supply routes into Darfur and much of western Sudan, making the latest military advance a significant setback for the paramilitary force.
The war, now in its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 14 million from their homes, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest humanitarian and displacement crisis.
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