The capture by paramilitary forces of Wad Madani, a strategic city in the country’s agricultural region, marks a watershed in the civil war that has upended life in the northeast African nation.
At a summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, President Vladimir V. Putin offered free grain as he sought to shore up ties with the continent. But lower-than-hoped-for attendance among African leaders hinted at tempering support.
The United Nations predicted that the figure would rise to more than 800,000 by year end, in addition to more than 300,000 people internally displaced already.