Sudanese cabinet holds 1st meeting in Khartoum since outbreak of war in 2023

By Adel Abdelrheem and Rania Abu Shamala

KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL (AA) – The Sudanese cabinet held its first meeting in the capital Khartoum on Tuesday since the outbreak of fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.

The state news agency SUNA called the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Kamal Idris, “a symbolic step toward the return of state institutions to the capital, amid ongoing security arrangements to ensure stability.”

Before Tuesday’s meeting, the Sudanese government had been running the country’s affairs from its temporary seat in Port Sudan in the country’s east.

According to SUNA, the meeting discussed plans of all Sudanese ministries for the current year, with a special focus on public services, security, reconstruction, and ensuring the voluntary return of displaced residents.

On May 31, Idris was sworn in as the new prime minister before Transitional Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Since the war erupted, Khartoum has been a battleground between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which controlled most parts of the capital except the army’s General Command Headquarters and some military sites in Khartoum, Bahri, and Omdurman.

In recent months, RSF-held areas have rapidly shrunk across Sudan in favor of the army, which expanded its victories to include Khartoum and White Nile State.

On May 21, the Sudanese army announced that it had regained full control of Khartoum, declaring the capital free of RSF forces.

The conflict has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced about 15 million, according to the UN and local authorities, while a study by US universities estimated the death toll at around 130,000.