Sudan's The army along with allied militia groups reclaimed control over the nation's central bank headquarters and various crucial locations within the capital from the Rapid Support Forces, according to eyewitnesses on Saturday. This came one day after they had recaptured the presidential palace.
The witnesses mentioned that the army additionally transported the civilians. RSF Outside the National Museum, the China-constructed Friendship Hall — which stands as the capital’s biggest convention center, the headquarters of the National Intelligence Service, the primary campus of Sudan University, and the iconic Corinthia Hotel. Forces also recaptured Tuti Island, a residential area located on the Blue Nile.
The recent gains reverse some of the losses the army suffered in the days after the war began on April 15, 2023, when the RSF seized control of the presidential palace, most of the armed forces' headquarters, the city's international airport and key military bases and industrial complexes.
The RSF, whose predecessor is a well-known militia from Darfur known as the Janjaweed, continues to have control over the airport and roughly a dozen neighborhoods in Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman. These areas, along with Bahri, form the larger metropolitan area encompassing the capital region.
Clips extensively circulated on social media platforms on Saturday allegedly depicted troops and associated fighters rejoicing over their triumphs at several reclaimed locations, primarily situated within the Al Muqran district close to downtown. This region marks the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile as they wind northward towards northern Sudan, Egypt, and ultimately, the Mediterranean Sea.
Speaking late on Friday, army chief and de facto president Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan vowed to press on with the offensive until the RSF was defeated.
“We are all determined to finish off this mutiny and eliminate those criminals and murderers,” he told mourners at the funeral of an army lieutenant colonel killed on Friday when an RSF suicide drone hit the presidential palace.
He ruled out any negotiations to end the war, saying: “We have had thousands of martyrs and we are not about to let their blood be wasted. We cannot let them die and then we sit with those people [the RSF] and say let bygones be bygones.”
The United States and Saudi Arabia facilitated multiple ceasefire agreements soon after the conflict began. However, these did not succeed in stopping the hostilities. It is estimated that this war has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, led to the displacement of over 12 million individuals, and pushed more than half of Sudan’s population of 50 million into severe food insecurity, with approximately eight million teetering on the edge of starvation.
The conflict erupted following months of strain between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, formerly his partner but now the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), due to their dispute over power in Sudan.
With the army and its allies now poised to regain full control of the capital, attention will slowly shift to Darfur in the west and Kordofan to the south-west – vast, arid regions controlled by the RSF. Both the RSF and the army have local allies there.
The conflict has reached the final phase, but it isn’t concluded," stated Sudanese military analyst Salah Mansour, a former brigadier general. "Khartoum needs to be fully secured first, followed by actions in Darfur and Kordofan. However, should the armed forces continue their progress, bringing an end to this war would merely be a question of when.
The RSF has lost considerable strength but could still extend the conflict using guerrilla-style combat techniques.