Development marks one of army’s most significant advances since war broke out between army chief al-Burhan and RSF
Sudan’s military says it has regained control of nearly all of Khartoum North as it intensified its offensive aimed at reclaiming full control of the capital from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The army, at war with the RSF since April 2023, has in recent weeks won back large swaths of the capital and its surrounding areas from the paramilitaries.
On Saturday, the military said it had recaptured Kafouri, a key district in Khartoum North, after pushing the RSF to the outskirts of the city which is also known as Bahri. The district, one of greater Khartoum’s wealthiest, had been a key base for the paramilitary group, housing properties linked to senior RSF leaders, including Abdel Rahim Daglo, the brother and deputy of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
On Friday, the Sudanese army announced it regained control of Abu Quta in northwestern Gezira State from RSF. In a statement, military spokesperson Nabil Abdullah said army forces and their allies on Friday pushed out “remnants of the Daglo terrorist militias” from Kafouri and other areas 15km (nine miles) to the east in Sharq El Nil.
On Thursday, a military source told the AFP news agency that the army was advancing towards the centre of Khartoum, while witnesses reported clashes there and explosions in the south of the capital.
With the new advances, the army has secured all cities and towns in Gezira State, except for Giad in the north and surrounding villages located 50km (31 miles) north of Khartoum. The developments mark one of the army’s most significant advances since the war broke out between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former ally Daglo’s RSF, which quickly seized much of Khartoum and other strategic areas.
However, as fighting rages on in the capital, Amnesty International raised concerns on Friday about potential reprisals in areas recently recaptured by the army. The rights group cited reports of the circulation of lists targeting activists, human rights defenders, and medical and humanitarian workers, accused of being “partners of the RSF”.
In South Belt, a neighbourhood in Khartoum, the RSF on Saturday detained two members of a local volunteering rescue group at gunpoint from Bashair Hospital – the last partially functioning facility in the area, the group said in a statement.
On Thursday, the RSF had also reportedly detained the manager of Bashair Hospital, as well as the head of a soup kitchen and a volunteer, according to local rescuers.
Last week, the UN human rights office documented at least 18 civilian deaths in Khartoum North since the army began its advance there in late January.
Following the army’s takeover of Gezira state capital Wad Madani last month, mass executions against civilians were reported. Human rights groups have accused the army and allied militias of extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, and physical and psychological torture, particularly targeting communities suspected of RSF ties.
The army and RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities.
Soldiers posted videos on social media purportedly showing forces celebrating with residents in the city center. One video showed residents taking to the streets to celebrate the “liberation” of the city, and shouting, “Allah is Great.”
Since the RSF captured Wad Medani in December 2023, tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in and around the city.
In recent months the RSF has suffered multiple battlefield blows, giving the military the upper hand in the war. It has lost control of many areas in Khartoum, the capital’s sister city of Omdurman, and the eastern and central provinces.
The war has created the world’s largest displacement crisis, driving over 14 million people — about 30% of the population — from their homes, according to the United Nations. An estimated 3.2 million people have crossed into neighboring countries including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.
Famine has been also detected in at least five areas, including three camps for displaced people in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, according to an international monitoring project, the Integrated Food Security Classification, or IPC. The IPC said five other areas are projected to experience famine in the next six months. More areas are also at risk of famine, it said.
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