The Sudan Army declared that it had taken full control of the capital Khartoum, nearly two years after losing it to breakaway RSF paramilitary forces in an ongoing civil war. “Our forces today have... forcibly cleansed the last pockets of the remnants of the Dagalo terrorist militia in Khartoum locality,” army spokesman Nabil Abdullah said in a statement late Thursday (Mar 27).

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'Dagalo terrorist militia' is how the regular army of Sudan describes the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the renegade paramilitary group led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

 

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RSF has been in a civil war with the regular army since April 2023.

The military statement on Thursday came after a week of pitched battles with RSF, which vowed not to surrender despite the setbacks in Khartoum.

Standing inside the newly reclaimed presidential palace, army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Wednesday declared the capital “free” from the RSF. 

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Arrest of South Sudan VP brings nation closer to civil war, UN warns

What is the Sudan Civil War all about?

Sudan is Africa's third-largest country, plagued over the years by extreme poverty, political upheavals, protests, and now, a civil war. The main fight is between Sudan's Army Chief al-Burhan, who is strong mainly in the Khartoum region, and his former deputy and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who controls the Darfur region.

After the Army-RSF war started in April 2023, the country was essentially broken into two.

The regular army controls the north and the east.

RSF is strong partially in the south and most of the western region of Darfur, which borders Chad.

On Wednesday, al-Burhan declared the capital "free" from the RSF from inside the presidential palace that his troops had recaptured after days of fighting.

This came after the Khartoum airport was cleared of RSF fighters.

The army defeated the RSF in its strongholds in Khartoum area, making its fighters escape into the greater Khartoum area via the Jebel Awliya bridge. The RSF fighters are likely to withdraw into their strongholds in Darfur.

‘Our forces completely destroyed enemy’s fighters’: Sudan army retakes presidential palace from RSF

Meanwhile, the RSF insisted that its forces have not lost any battle but have only repositioned.

"Our forces will continue to defend the homeland’s soil and secure a decisive victory. There will be no retreat or surrender. We will deliver crushing defeats to the enemy on all fronts," it said.

Just as they were being pounded in Khartoum and being ousted from the capital, RSF entered into a military pact with another rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, that controls South Kordofan state and parts of Blue Nile. Al-Hilu's rebels have earlier fought both the Sudan Army and the RSF.

825,000 Sudan children face violence and famine: UN

The war in the African nation has been relatively forgotten by the mainstream media as it is focused on Russia-Ukraine war and Hamas-Israel war.

The Sudan Civil War has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced at least 12 million people, according to the United Nations.

Sudanese army launches airstrikes in Khartoum against paramilitary positions

The UN children's agency has warned that nearly 825,000 children are trapped by violence and food shortage in North Darfur. UNICEF noted that the children remain cut off from food, clean water and humanitarian assistance.

UNICEF representative for Sudan, Sheldon Yett, said 825,000 children "are trapped in a growing catastrophe in and around Al Fasher," and face death either due to fighting or the collapse of services.

More than 70 children were killed this year so far in the crossfire, it said.

According to the International Rescue Committee, it has created the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded” in the region.

(With inputs from agencies)