The Sudanese army said Friday it broke a siege of its headquarters in Khartoum by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which had encircled it since war broke out in April 2023.

In a statement, the army said troops in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman across the Nile River had "merged with our forces stationed at the General Command of the Armed Forces".

A military source confirmed that "the arrival of the forces from Bahri completely lifted the siege on the command".

The army added that it had "expelled" the RSF from the Jaili oil refinery north of the capital, the country's largest, which the paramilitary had claimed control of since the start of the war.

With a months-long communications blackout in place, AFP was not able to independently verify the situation on the ground.

The RSF could not immediately be reached for comment, but had earlier denied the army had taken control of the Signal Corps -- a key base across the river from the military headquarters.

Since the outbreak of the war with Sudan's army in April 2023, the RSF had encircled both the........

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