The Sudanese army has recaptured the city of Wad Madani from rebels.
Senior military sources confirmed to Sky News they had made the advance.
The general command of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) released a statement early on Saturday afternoon.
It said its troops had entered Wad Madani in the morning and were “working to clean the pockets of the rebels inside the city”.
The army also posted a video that appeared to show troops inside the city, which is the capital of Sudan’s El Gezira state.
This comes just days after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was accused by the US of committing genocide in the country.
Speaking at the time, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the RSF and its aligned militias had “systematically murdered men and boys – even infants – on an ethnic basis” and “deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence”.
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If successful, taking the city would mark the SAF’s biggest gain in almost two years of war.
It has stepped up its campaign to retake El Gezira in recent months after retaking Sennar state in the south.
This has included increasing airstrikes that have often hit civilians.
The RSF’s top commander in the state defected to the army in October and his troops took part in Saturday’s operations.
At the time the RSF responded with a series of attacks.
The army also continued on Saturday its operations in the city of Bahri, where it has also made advances in recent months.
Read more:
Why is Sudan’s death toll unknown?
‘Give me your daughter, or we’ll take her’
Sudan war explained
Fighting erupted in Sudan in April 2023 when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the partner-turned-rival of the military, clashed in the capital Khartoum, before spreading across the country.
Sudan is now torn between the two warring factions.
The city emptied as weeks turned into months and civilians started dying from lack of food and water, on top of the armed violence.
The RSF receives support from the United Arab Emirates, via Chad, and maintains close links with Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
SAF is largely supported by Iran, Egypt and Ukraine.
Despite ongoing efforts to pursue a ceasefire, fighting has not eased and tens of thousands of people have been killed.
More than 12 million people are displaced and half the population is facing hunger.
Several mediation attempts have failed to secure a humanitarian access mechanism or any lulls in the fighting.
Wad Madani is an agricultural hub that has been held by the RSF since December 2023.
Due to blockades, imposed as part of the conflict, the area has been left at risk of famine.
The state, located in the centre of Sudan and south of the capital Khartoum, has seen some of the bloodiest attacks on civilians as well as the burning of fields, looting of hospitals and markets, and flooding of irrigation ditches.
