Sudan army advances towards presidential palace in Khartoum

Sudan army advances towards presidential palace in Khartoum

The Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitary group are losing control of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, which they have held since 2023, as the army makes advances towards the presidential palace. As fighting intensifies,… pic.twitter.com/mcFz3HgGnI

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 3, 2025

The Sudanese army yesterday launched a new offensive against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), advancing towards the presidential palace in the centre of the capital, Khartoum, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

The site said the army began its offensive in the morning, clashing with RSF elements who attempted to prevent it from advancing towards.

The RSF have controlled the presidential palace and the ministries adjacent to it, along with a number of strategic sites in Khartoum since the eruption of the current conflict in April 2023.

The Sudanese army’s advancement follows a series of successive victories it has achieved in recent months, starting with retaking major cities like Al-Dinder, Al-Suki, Singa and Jebel Moya in the far southeast of the country, then Wad Madani in central Sudan, and finally extending its control over the Bahri district in the capital Khartoum, including El Mek Nimr Bridge linking Bahri to central Khartoum, and the bridge closest to the presidential palace.

However, the RSF refused to acknowledge the army’s victories, stressing that their forces are present in Khartoum, Bahri and elsewhere, and ready to defeat what it calls the “Islamic Movement Militia”.

The UAE- backed RSF published a video yesterday of a military parade held by its forces in the East Nile region, east of the capital. The clip shared on the group’s Telegram channel showed militiamen pledging “to fight and sacrifice themselves”, indicating that their vehicles had arrived in Omdurman in the past few days.

Meanwhile, in the city of Umm Ruwaba, west of the country, army soldiers published videos showing their entry into the southern parts of the city, which has been under the RSF control since the first months of the war.

Umm Ruwaba is one of the most strategic cities in Sudan and regaining control over it gives the army an opportunity to advance towards the city of Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, and advance further towards retaking the city of Al-Fula, the capital of West Kordofan State, and other cities in the Kordofan region.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in mid-April 2023, has claimed more than 20,000 lives and displaced 14 million people, according to the UN and local authorities.

A study by US-based universities estimates the death toll to stand at around 130,000.

International organisations have warned about a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, with millions facing famine and death due to food shortages amid fighting that has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.

READ: UN food agency raises alarm over worsening food shortages in Sudan