Sudan reopens key trade route linking Khartoum and North Kordofan

The decision reverses restrictions imposed in December 2025 by Khartoum’s governor, who blocked commercial traffic along the state’s western boundary in an effort to disrupt food and medical supply lines to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The lifting of the ban comes after the Sudanese army and allied groups took control on July 25 of Umm Qirfa, Jabrat al-Sheikh and Jureijikh, securing the Omdurman-Bara corridor leading to El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan.

Khartoum state authorities said in a statement that the state security committee had repealed the emergency decree prohibiting goods and commercial traffic along the route connecting the capital area with Bara and El Obeid.

Authorities also abolished a requirement for traders to obtain special clearance permits to transport goods from neighbouring states.

The reopening is expected to ease shortages of basic commodities affecting civilians in communities along the Khartoum-North Kordofan border.

Residents in the region have faced shortages and sharp increases in food and other essential goods, partly because of their reliance on smuggled supplies following the closure of formal trade routes.

The move marks an easing of commercial restrictions as Sudan’s army and the RSF continue to fight for control of territory and supply routes in the country’s ongoing conflict.