A Sudanese military source told AFP on Thursday that the army was advancing towards central Khartoum “from several axes” and that its soldiers were approaching the Republican Palace, which is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces.
The army, which has been at war with the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, has been waging a violent attack in recent weeks to extend its control over the entire capital.
An army source told AFP that “forces are close to reaching and controlling central Khartoum… and expelling the Al-Dagalo militia,” referring to the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, nicknamed “Hemeti.”
He added, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, that “our armored corps forces are advancing from several axes.”
The army announced on Wednesday that it had “cleansed” the Al-Rumaila neighborhoods and the industrial area in the heart of Khartoum, just three kilometers from the Republican Palace, which is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces.
Eyewitnesses said on Thursday that army forces had to fight their way through Rapid Support Forces snipers positioned on high-rise buildings in what was once Khartoum’s business and government district.
The Rapid Support Forces did not respond for the news
Further south, witnesses reported clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces around the Soba Bridge, one of the capital’s main entry points from the southeast.
After months of stalemate in Khartoum, the army last week broke a siege by the Rapid Support Forces on its headquarters in the capital.
The army’s advance on the capital is its biggest victory in a year, when it recaptured Omdurman across the Nile, which, along with Khartoum Bahri and the city center, forms Greater Khartoum.
The war has killed tens of thousands of Sudanese, displaced 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
