War By The Inches: Sudanese Military Regains Control Of The Presidential Palace

War By Inches: Sudanese Military Regains Control of Presidential Palace Sudan Sudanese forces retook control of the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the military said this weekend, marking a major symbolic and strategic victory after nearly two years of brutal warfare that has killed tens of thousands of people and devastated the country, the Washington Post reported. On Friday, Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, spokesperson for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), said army troops had “crushed” RSF fighters and reclaimed not only the Republican Palace – the prewar seat of government – but also key buildings including the Central Bank and the headquarters of the National Intelligence Service. He announced Saturday that hundreds of RSF fighters were killed as they attempted to flee. The RSF has not commented on the military’s claims, but previously said its fighters remained near the palace and had attacked soldiers inside, according to the Associated Press. Sudan erupted in civil war in April 2023 following a feud between Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan of the SAF, and his deputy, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), head of the paramilitary RSF, a force formed from the Arab Janjaweed militia in western Darfur that killed thousands of people there in the 1980s. The conflict initially began in Khartoum, but later spread into other regions, including Darfur. The RSF had seized the capital’s landmarks in the early days of the conflict in April 2023, but recent weeks have seen the army retake most of them. The advance caps months of military gains in Khartoum and its surrounding cities of Omdurman and Bahri, with the army expected to now attempt to retake Khartoum International Airport – held by the RSF since the start of the war. Analysts said the fall of the presidential palace is a blow to the RSF and comes just days after Hemedti made a rare appearance in a video urging fighters to hold the line. But despite the military’s recent advancements, some analysts warned that the war is far from over and could turn into a protracted stalemate between the RSF based in the western Darfur region and the military-led government in the capital. Volker Perthes, a former United Nations envoy to Sudan, told the Associated Press that the RSF is likely to withdraw to its strongholds in Darfur. The RSF continues to hold most of western Darfur and has surrounded the last SAF-held city there, Al Fashir, bombarding camps for displaced civilians with mortars and artillery. The war has forced millions from their homes, collapsed government services, and plunged Sudan into what UNICEF describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Both sides have been accused of widespread abuses and war crimes, including mass rapes and ethnically targeted killings. The US has accused the RSF of committing genocide and ethnic cleansing, while also alleging that the SAF has obstructed aid deliveries in famine-hit areas. The outgoing Biden administration imposed sanctions on both Burhan and Hemedti in January. Meanwhile, recent cuts by the Trump administration have eliminated support for grassroots-level humanitarian services, deepening the crisis in zones where major aid agencies cannot safely operate. Share this story