Sudan’s army has reclaimed the Presidential Palace in Khartoum in a significant victory over the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has controlled large parts of the war-torn country since the conflict began in April 2023.
The battle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving more than 28,000 people dead and displacing 11 million others, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Initiative.
The RSF has maintained control of Khartoum since the start of the war, but on Friday, the government announced that its troops had seized the Presidential Palace and would continue pushing to reclaim the capital.
“Today the flag is raised, the palace is back, and the journey continues until victory is complete,” Sudanese Information Minister Khalid Al-Aiser wrote on X.
Despite this success, large parts of Khartoum remain under RSF control, and the militia continues to dominate the western, southern, and central regions, including Darfur, where ethnically motivated violence is rampant. The SAF holds the eastern and northern regions of Sudan.
Retaking Khartoum would be a symbolic victory for the SAF, as the RSF had begun steps to establish a parallel government. However, the battle for control of the capital has taken a heavy toll on civilians caught in the crossfire.
“Dozens of civilians, including local humanitarian volunteers, have been killed by artillery shelling and aerial bombardment by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces in eastern Khartoum and north Omdurman since 12 March,” a spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office, Seif Magango, said on Thursday.
Both the SAF and RSF have been accused of war crimes. In January, the United States accused the RSF of committing genocide, the second in Sudan in two decades.
A recent UNICEF report linked the SAF to atrocities, including sexual violence against young children, some as young as one year old.
“Credible reports indicate that the RSF and allied militia have raided homes in eastern Khartoum, carrying out summary killings and arbitrary detentions, and looted food and medical supplies from community kitchens and medical clinics,” Magango added.
“SAF and affiliated fighters are also reported to have engaged in looting and other criminal activities in areas they control in Khartoum North (Bahri) and East Nile. Widespread arbitrary arrests are ongoing in East Nile.”
