SUDAN: The Sudanese army announced it had fully seized control of the capital, Khartoum, a week after recapturing the presidential palace from rival paramilitaries.
Army spokesperson Nabil Abdullah said late Thursday that forces had eliminated the last pockets of the Rapid Support Forces in the capital.
“Our forces today have successfully and forcibly cleansed the last pockets of the remnants of the Daglo terrorist militia in Khartoum locality,” Abdullah said in a statement.
Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared the capital “free” from the RSF on Wednesday. He made this announcement from inside the recaptured presidential palace.
US aiming to step up diplomatic efforts to end war
However, the recapture of the capital does not signal an immediate end to the two- year- long civil war. Though government forces have made advances in Khartoum and central Sudan, RSF fighters still control large swaths of land across the country, notably in the western Darfur region.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Washington aims to step up diplomatic efforts to end the war in Sudan after the recent surge in violence, including in Khartoum.
“We are trying to figure out and engage with our partners, soliciting their ideas about what to do,” he said.
Fighting has killed thousands, displaced millions
The UN has called the situation in Sudan the “world’s “worst humanitarian crisis” with fighting, widespread famine and disease forcing some 12.5 million of Sudan’s 46 million citizens to flee.
Death tolls, both because of fighting and the humanitarian crisis, are estimated to be between 60,000 and 150,000.
How did Sudan’s civil war start?
Sudan’s civil war erupted two years ago as the country sought to transition to democracy.
The government troops and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were allies that joined forces to oust Islamist leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
The Sudanese Armed Forces under General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces, which are headed by General Mohammed Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, initially joined a civilian-led transitional council following the fall of al-Bashir.
But in October 2021, they staged a coup together, derailing Sudan’s democratic transition to a civilian government, and Hemeti became Burhan’s deputy.
The two generals turned on each other after Hemeti refused to integrate his militia into the national army triggering the civil war.
