The Sudanese army announced that it captured the key eastern city from the rebels

Sudan’s army says it has captured a key town in the country’s east, one of its biggest victories in more than two years of fighting rebel forces.

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

The leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, admitted the crime in a voicemail.

The entry was one of frustration and shock, which attributed the defeat to the army’s air superiority and the use of Iranian-made drones.

But he said that even if it takes another 20 years, he will continue to fight until victory.

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

In April 2023, violence broke out between the army and the RSF as the army re-deployed around the country as a threat.

The war claimed tens of thousands of lives. And nearly nine million people have been forced to flee their homes in what the United Nations calls “major displacement crises.”

And so is the country. sliding into starvationWith 24.6 million people – nearly half – in urgent need of food aid, experts said.

Earlier this month, the US imposed sanctions on RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo after his death. They accused the group of genocide.

The authorities are being punished for their role in “systematic” brutality against the Sudanese people during the 20-month war.