Sudan’s army says it has captured a key city in the country’s east, one of its biggest gains in its nearly two-decade war with rebels.

Videos on social media showed people celebrating in the streets as army soldiers entered the city of Wadmadani.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, leader of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), acknowledged the losses in an audio message.

His admission was angry and aimless, blaming the defeat on the military’s air superiority and use of Iranian-made drones.

But he vowed to keep fighting until victory, even if it took another 20 years.

Wadmadani is the capital of Arjanzira state, 87 miles (140 kilometers) south of the country’s capital, Khartoum.

In April 2023, violence broke out between the army and Médecins Sans Frontières after days of tension as MSF members were redeployed across the country in a move the military believed posed a threat.

The war claimed tens of thousands of lives. Some nine million people have been forced to flee their homes in what the United Nations calls one of the world’s “largest displacement crises.”

The country is also falling into famineExperts say 24.6 million people, about half the population, are in urgent need of food aid.

Earlier this month, the United States imposed sanctions on Doctors Without Borders leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Accused the group of genocide.

Officials said he was being punished for “systemic” atrocities against the Sudanese people during the 20-month conflict.