Khartoum’s advances 'watershed moment’ in Sudan war as pressure builds on RSF, foreign backers
A battle last week in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, saw the army retake a key strategic and symbolic location, but the army’s advancements don’t necessarily spell an end to the war.
Sudan’s army has recaptured the country’s presidential palace from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, in a landmark victory for state forces. Experts argue the government’s advances in Khartoum usher a new phase in the war, increasing pressure on the Rapid Support Forces and their foreign backers, particularly the United Arab Emirates.
Last Friday, a month before Sudan’s civil war hits the two-year mark on April 15, the Sudanese Armed Forces reclaimed the presidential palace in central Khartoum. For nearly the whole course of the war, the palace, along with most of Khartoum, remained in the hands of the RSF. The presidential palace, once the seat of power in the country, is an important win for Sudan’s army both tactically and symbolically. The SAF now controls nearly the entire northern half of the city, including its suburbs.
SAF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdallah announced the victory in a video statement on Friday, saying that the army had retaken the palace and “completely destroyed the enemy’s personnel and equipment and seized large quantities of their weapons” in and around the palace.
RSF’s limited options
