Sudan developments; Khartoum comes under full military control; Al-Burhan enters presidential palace

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): "Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan" announced that the Sudanese army has taken full control of the city of Khartoum and the city's international airport and pushed back elements of the "Rapid Support" group, saying: "The job is done, Khartoum has been liberated."

 

Accordingly, after nearly a year of fighting, the Sudanese army has succeeded in pushing back the Rapid Support Forces commanded by Hamidati.

 

According to local media, the Sudanese army released images showing that Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council, arrived at Khartoum airport in a helicopter and then went to the presidential palace in the capital to celebrate this victory with his soldiers.

 

According to Al Jazeera, Al-Burhan announced from inside the presidential palace that the Sudanese army had regained full control of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and that "Khartoum is now liberated."

 

This incident occurred while "the Sudanese army launched a massive multi-axis attack on the positions of the Rapid Support Forces in the city of Khartoum on Wednesday and, according to the official spokesman and field commanders, announced that it had taken control of large areas of the city of Khartoum during this attack."

 

According to the army statement, the Sudanese armed forces have taken control of Khartoum International Airport, which is located around the command building of the army's general staff, as well as the headquarters of the Rapid Support Forces in the Riyadh Sudan region, and the western part of the "Al-Manshiya and Suba" bridges that connect Khartoum to the East Nile in the east of the capital.

 

The Sudanese army also announced that it had taken control of the air defense base, the Central Reserve Police Command, the Yarmouk Industrial Zone and most of the eastern and southern areas of Khartoum.

 

Meanwhile, sources told Al Jazeera that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had fled in groups via the Jabal Awlia Dam Bridge in southern Khartoum. The developments came after the army advanced on an area that was considered the last major base of the RSF in Khartoum. Field sources also told Al Jazeera that the army had taken control of the RSF intelligence offices in eastern Khartoum.

 

At the same time as retaking the airport, the army also took control of the entrance to the city of Jabal Awlia in southern Khartoum and surrounded the area from all sides. The Sudanese army announced last night that it had managed to control most of the eastern and southern areas of Khartoum in the past few hours, and that its forces were deployed on the main streets of the capital.

 

Sudanese military media also reported that the army's armored forces had taken control of the land terminal in the Al-Sahafah area in eastern Khartoum early on Wednesday. It was also announced that the army forces had taken control of the buildings of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Sudan and the neighborhoods of Al-Nuzha and Al-Sahafah.

 

A few days ago, the Sudanese army managed to retake the presidential palace after two years of being controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. It also took control of several government buildings in the center of Khartoum. In this regard, a military source announced that the Sudanese army had taken control of the cities of Al-Jadeed Amran and Al-Jadeed Al-Thawra, which are located on the border of Khartoum and Al-Jazira states, after clashes with the Rapid Support Forces. Yasser Al-Atta, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and a member of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, emphasized that the army and its allied forces are engaged in heavy fighting on the Jabal Awlia axis in southern Khartoum.

 

History of the conflict between the "Rapid Support" forces and the Sudanese army The conflict between the Sudanese army and the "Rapid Support" forces has its roots in the political and security developments in the country in recent decades. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were originally formed in the early 2000s as a paramilitary group of Janjaweed fighters who fought in the Darfur War. They later came under the patronage of Omar al-Bashir’s government and operated as an official paramilitary force alongside the army.

 

After the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daqlo (known as Hamidati), remained part of Sudan’s security structure, but tensions between the group and the army increased. The main disagreements between the two forces were over the integration of the RSF into the army and how to manage the transition period after al-Bashir’s fall.

 

In April 2023, tensions reached a peak and heavy armed clashes broke out between the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF. The civil war resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries and widespread displacement. Rapid Support Forces were able to seize key areas of Khartoum and other cities, but the Sudanese army has launched a major operation to retake these areas in recent months. Fighting between the two sides continues, and international mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire and resolve the crisis have so far been unsuccessful.