What will it take to stop the conflict in Sudan?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported on July 28, 2026, that Sudan’s army says it has regained a strategically important highway connecting the capital, Khartoum, with El-Obeid, a key city in North Kordofan. The development comes amid intensified fighting around El-Obeid, which Al Jazeera said has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. Control of the route could improve the army’s access between central Sudan and the capital and may put pressure on RSF positions, though the report cautioned that large numbers of civilians remain trapped and vulnerable.

The report framed the highway claim within Sudan’s wider war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, now in its third year. Al Jazeera said the conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with more than 13 million people displaced and tens of thousands of civilians killed. It also reported that more than half of Sudan’s population requires aid, the health system has been badly damaged, and millions of children are no longer in school.

Al Jazeera’s “Inside Story” programme examined what might be needed to end the conflict, with presenter James Bays joined by Sanosi Zakaria, editor-in-chief of the Sudan Mirror and a former army officer; Shashwat Saraf, Sudan country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council; and Sudan analyst Elbashir Idris. The discussion followed repeated accusations of war crimes and abuses against both warring sides, underscoring why any military shift around El-Obeid matters not only for battlefield control but also for humanitarian access and civilian protection.