Sudanese military claims control of Omdurman–El Obeid highway after North Kordofan advances

Army statement reports territorial gains

The Sudanese Armed Forces said on July 26, 2026, that it had taken additional territory in North Kordofan State and established complete control over the National Export Highway connecting the Khartoum area with North Kordofan. The assertion came from the military and was not independently verified by the outlet that reported it.

According to the army’s statement, the newly captured locations included Umm Qarfa and Juraikh. The military said those gains enabled it to control the highway running between Omdurman and El Obeid, which it identified as the National Export Highway. the cited account did not provide a map, distances, the timing of the individual advances or independent confirmation from the locations named.

A military spokesperson attributed the claimed gains to successful operations against the Rapid Support Forces and fighters allied with it. The army referred to the RSF as the “Dagalo militia,” language reflecting the military’s characterization of its opponent rather than a neutral designation. The spokesperson alleged that RSF personnel and equipment sustained heavy losses and that the force and its allies withdrew.

No figures were available for the alleged losses. The report did not state how many combatants participated, identify equipment said to have been lost or provide casualty totals for either side. It also contained no response from the RSF addressing the army’s version of the fighting or its claim of full highway control. Those elements therefore remain claims made by one party to the conflict.

The army presented the reported capture of Umm Qarfa and Juraikh as part of a succession of military gains. In its statement, it connected the highway claim to its continuing campaign, which it calls the “Battle of Dignity.” The armed forces said they intended to maintain that campaign until Sudan was cleared of the RSF and its allies. That stated objective was the army’s own description of its operations and political-military aim.

The highway claim was significant within the statement because the military linked the route directly to Omdurman and El Obeid and described it as connecting Khartoum with North Kordofan State. The evidence, however, does not provide information about civilian traffic, commercial movement, road conditions or whether travel resumed after the reported operations. It also does not identify any administrative measures introduced along the route following the asserted takeover.

Sudan Horizon, which carried the announcement, explicitly noted that it had not independently verified the military’s battlefield claims. The available account consequently supports reporting that the SAF announced control, not a definitive finding that control had been established or remained uncontested.

As historical context for July 26, the report records an army declaration of advances in North Kordofan, the alleged retreat of opposing forces and a claimed strategic result on the Omdurman–El Obeid road. Details beyond the military statement—including losses, conditions in the captured areas and the status of opposing forces—were not independently established in the available reporting.