Sudan’s army close to take control of Presidential Palace in Khartoum from rebel faction

By Adel Abdelrheem and Betul Yilmaz

KHARTOUM/ISTANBUL (AA) - The Sudanese army closed in on the Presidential Palace in the capital Khartoum on Thursday, for the first time since the outbreak of fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in 2023.

The state television said the army is close to regain control of the palace from the rebel faction. It played the national anthem and videos glorifying the military.

Fierce clashes raged on in central Khartoum since early morning between army forces and RSF fighters, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Sounds of explosions and heavy guns were heard in several areas of the capital, witnesses said.

The army said its forces destroyed combat vehicles belonging to the RSF as they withdrew from the area where the palace is located.

Activists also shared videos on social media of army forces firing missiles amid clashes with RSF militants in central Khartoum.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the report.

On Saturday, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, insisted in a video recording that his forces would neither abandon Khartoum nor relinquish the Presidential Palace, which they have held since the conflict’s onset.

Over the past few weeks, the territorial control of the RSF has been shrinking rapidly in favor of the Sudanese army across several states, including Khartoum, Al-Jazira, White Nile, North Kordofan, Sennar, and Blue Nile.

In the Khartoum state, which consists of three cities, the army now controls all of Bahri City in the north, most parts of Omdurman City in the west, and 75% of central Khartoum City, which houses the Presidential Palace and the country’s main airport. The RSF, however, still maintains control over the eastern and southern parts of the city.

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

International and UN calls for an end to the war are mounting, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages. The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.