Sudan’s military retakes key stronghold after nearly two years of fighting

Sudan’s military announced Friday that it had retaken Khartoum’s Republican Palace, a symbolic victory in the nearly two-year conflict against its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Social media videos corroborated the claim, showing soldiers inside the palace, confirming the date as Friday, the 21st day of Ramadan.

One video featured a Sudanese military officer, identifiable by his captain’s epaulettes, announcing from within the compound that the palace had been secured.

The footage revealed the extent of the damage, with soldiers walking over broken tiles and debris.

Troops armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers chanted “God is the greatest!” as they moved through the ruined building.

Sudan’s Information Minister, Khaled al-Aiser, confirmed the military’s success on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “Today the flag is raised, the palace is back and the journey continues until victory is complete.”

The Republican Palace, situated along the Nile River, served as the seat of government before the war began and is a prominent national symbol, featured on Sudanese currency and stamps.

Its recapture represents a significant strategic and symbolic win for the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, which has made consistent gains in recent months.

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It means the rival Rapid Support Forces, under Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have been mostly expelled from the capital of Khartoum after Sudan’s war began in April 2023. Sporadic gunfire could be heard throughout the capital Friday, though it was not clear if it involved fighting or was celebratory.

The group did not immediately acknowledge the loss, which likely will not stop the fighting as the RSF and its allies still hold territory elsewhere in Sudan.

Late Thursday, the RSF claimed it seized control of the Sudanese city of al-Maliha, a strategic desert city in North Darfur near the borders of Chad and Libya. Sudan’s military has acknowledged fighting around al-Maliha, but has not said it lost the city.

Al-Maliha is around 125 miles (200 kilometres) north of the city of El Fasher, which remains held by the Sudanese military despite near-daily strikes by the surrounding RSF.

The head of the UN children’s agency has said the conflict created the world’s largest and humanitarian crisis.

The war has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country. Other estimates suggest a far higher death toll.

The Republican Palace had been the seat of power during the British colonisation of Sudan. It also saw some of the first independent Sudanese flags raised over the country in 1956. It also had been the main office of Sudan’s president and other top officials.

The Sudanese military have long targeted the palace and its grounds, shelling and firing on the compound.

Sudan has faced years of chaos and war

Sudan, a nation in northeastern Africa, has been unstable since a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in 2019. A short-lived transition to democracy was derailed when Burhan and Dagalo led a military coup in 2021.

The RSF and Sudan’s military then began fighting each other in 2023.

Burhan’s forces, including Sudan’s military and allied militias, have advanced against the RSF since the start of this year. They retook a key refinery north of Khartoum. They then pushed in on RSF positions around the capital itself. The fighting has led to an increase in civilian casualties.

Al-Bashir faces charges at the International Criminal Court over carrying out a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s in the western Darfur region with the Janjaweed, the precursor to the RSF. Rights groups and the UN accuse the RSF and allied Arab militias of again attacking ethnic African groups in this war.

Since the war began, both the Sudanese military and the RSF have faced allegations of human rights abuses. Before US President Joe Biden left office, the State Department declared the RSF is committing genocide.

The military and the RSF have denied committing abuses.