Sudan’s army says it has captured a key city in the east of the country from rebels

Sudan’s army says it has captured a key city in the east of the country, one of the biggest gains in a nearly two-year war against rebel forces.

Footage on social media showed people celebrating in the streets as army soldiers entered the town of Wad Madani.

The leader of the Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitary group, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagala, also known as Hemedti, acknowledged the loss in an audio message.

His admission was angry and rambling, attributing the defeat to the army’s air superiority and the use of Iranian drones.

But he vowed to continue the fight to victory, even if it takes another 20 years.

Wad Madani is the capital of Al Jazeera State and is located 87 miles (140 km) south of the country’s capital, Khartoum.

Violence broke out between the army and the RSF in April 2023 after several days of tension when RSF members were deployed across the country in what the army saw as a threat.

The war took tens of thousands of lives. And in what the United Nations has called one of the world’s “greatest displacement crises,” some nine million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The country too falling into starvationExperts note that 24.6 million people – approximately half of the population – need urgent food aid.

Earlier this month, the US imposed sanctions on RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagal accused the group of committing genocide.

Officials said he was being punished for his role in “systematic” atrocities against the Sudanese people during the 20-month conflict.