The Sudanese army has announced that it has regained full control of Khartoum, nearly two years after losing the capital to rival paramilitary forces. This marks the culmination of a weeklong military blitz that saw the army reclaim the presidential palace, the airport, and other key strategic sites in the capital.
In a statement released late Thursday, army spokesperson Nabil Abdullah confirmed that Sudanese forces had “forcibly cleansed the last pockets of the remnants of the Daglo terrorist militia in Khartoum locality.” The “Daglo terrorist militia” refers to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who have been engaged in a fierce battle with the military since April 2023.
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, standing inside the freshly reclaimed presidential palace, declared on Wednesday that Khartoum was “free” from the RSF. After enduring a series of setbacks over the past 18 months, the army launched a counteroffensive that steadily advanced through central Sudan toward the capital.
Since the army stormed the presidential palace last week, reports from witnesses and activists indicate that RSF fighters have been retreating across Khartoum. An army source informed AFP on Wednesday that RSF troops were fleeing across the Jebel Awliya bridge, the last remaining escape route from the greater Khartoum area.
Despite these losses, the RSF has refused to surrender, issuing a statement saying, “There will be no retreat and no surrender,” and claiming that its forces had merely repositioned. The paramilitary group vowed to “deliver crushing defeats to the enemy on all fronts,” marking their first direct comment since the army’s recent offensive in Khartoum.
Blue Nile and Rebel Alliances
In a significant development, just hours after Burhan re-entered the presidential palace for the first time in two years, the RSF announced a “military alliance” with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). The SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, controls large portions of South Kordofan and parts of the Blue Nile near the Ethiopian border. The two groups had previously clashed but recently signed a political charter, with the RSF establishing a rival government alongside the rebel group.
On Thursday evening, witnesses in the Blue Nile state capital of Damazin reported that both the Damazin airport and the nearby Roseires Dam were targeted by drone attacks launched by the RSF and its new allies. The army’s 4th Infantry Division in Damazin later stated that its air defenses intercepted the drones.
Ongoing Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis
The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF has caused widespread devastation, killing tens of thousands and displacing over 12 million people, creating what the International Rescue Committee has called the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.”
As the conflict persists, Sudan remains deeply divided, with the army controlling the north and east, while the RSF holds parts of the south and nearly all of the vast western region of Darfur, which borders Chad.
