SPLM-N and RSF cut key South Kordofan road, threaten Kadugli

December 30, 2025 (KADUGLI) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, blocked the main highway connecting Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan state on Tuesday after seizing the strategic Al-Taqatu’ junction.

The Sudanese army had reopened the road in February following fierce battles with the SPLM-N, which had held the vital supply route since the early months of the conflict that began in April 2023.

In a statement, the SPLM-N said that its forces, alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), captured army garrisons in the Al-Taqatu’, Al-Balf, and Hajar Daliba areas. These locations sit along the national road linking the state capital, Kadugli, with Dilling, the state’s second-largest city.

The group described the takeover of these towns as a tactical advance that paves the way for the “liberation” of Kadugli in the coming hours.

Military sources said areas along the Kadugli-Dilling axis, including Al-Samasim, Al-Dashol, and Al-Kargal, have faced intense drone strikes by the RSF in recent weeks. The strikes targeted army defensive positions, forcing most government troops to retreat into the urban centres of Kadugli and Dilling.

The closure of the road allows the SPLM-N and its RSF allies to isolate the two cities, a move expected to worsen already dire security and humanitarian conditions.

A blockade on South Kordofan’s major towns has been in place since the conflict’s early stages, leading to reports of famine in Dilling due to acute food shortages and a lack of humanitarian aid. The latest escalation has triggered new waves of displacement, with thousands of civilians fleeing toward North Kordofan.