The Sudanese army announced on Sunday that it has taken control of strategic locations in central Khartoum, tightening its siege on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the presidential palace and government institutions in the city center.
In a statement, the Sudanese army said that “armored forces repelled the RSF militia in the Family Club area (in Khartoum 3 neighborhood), Al-Muslimiya Bridge, Nile Towers, and Sherwani Bus Station in central Khartoum”.
The statement added that “army forces are advancing steadily, supported by the Sudanese people, in central Khartoum”.
Army spokesman Nabil Abdullah said in a brief statement: “Our forces are making significant progress in central Khartoum”.
The army released video footage on its Facebook page showing its forces ambushing RSF elements. It stated that “the elements were trying to escape the siege of central Khartoum, and the army forces managed to neutralize all the fleeing elements, with none of them surviving.
With the army’s advance in central Khartoum, it is tightening the noose and imposing a siege from all directions on the RSF forces that control the presidential palace and government institutions in the city center.
By controlling Sherwani station, Nile Towers, and Al-Muslimiya Bridge, the army has closed the roads leading to central Khartoum from the south and approached within 1.4 kilometers of the presidential palace.
In recent days, army forces had taken control of Jackson Station and Freedom Bridge at the southwestern entrance to central Khartoum.
As of 18:05 GMT, there was no comment from the RSF on this matter. However, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti” affirmed in a video recording on Saturday that his forces would not leave Khartoum or the presidential palace, which they have controlled since the outbreak of the war.
The Sudanese army also announced on Sunday that it had regained control of the important Abu Arif area in Sennar state (southeast) after battles with RSF forces9.
Over the past few weeks, the RSF’s areas of control have been rapidly shrinking in favor of the army in the states of Khartoum, Gezira, White Nile, North Kordofan, Sennar, and Blue Nile.
In 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 Sudanese 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
