By Adel Abdelrheem
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - The Sudanese army on Friday advanced in Bahri, a district of the capital Khartoum, breaking a 21-month siege of its Signal Corps headquarters, according to local media reports and social media activists.
Neither the Sudanese army nor the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been locked in conflict since April 15, 2023, issued an official statement regarding the development.
The privately-owned Al-Sudani newspaper reported that army units reached troops trapped inside the Signal Corps base in Bahri, which had been surrounded by RSF forces since the war began.
Videos circulating on social media showed Sudanese soldiers celebrating the siege's end and reuniting with the previously encircled forces at the base.
Khartoum, Sudan's capital, comprises three main cities: Khartoum (southeast), Bahri (northeast), and Omdurman (west), connected by bridges spanning the Blue and White Nile rivers.
The Signal Corps base occupies a strategic location along the Blue Nile, bordering the east by the Blue Nile Bridge and leading to central Khartoum and by roads connecting to army headquarters.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visited the town of Al-Galil, north of Bahri, after the army reclaimed it on Wednesday. A council statement confirmed that al-Burhan inspected frontline troops in the area.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and RSF has resulted in over 20,000 deaths and displaced or forced into refuge approximately 14 million people, according to the UN and local authorities. A separate study by US universities estimated fatalities at 130,000.
International and UN calls to end the war are intensifying as Sudan faces a deepening humanitarian crisis. With the fighting extending to 13 of Sudan's 18 states, millions are at risk of famine and death due to food shortages.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio