Sudan Army Chief Declares Capital 'Free'

By Al Mayadeen English

26 Mar 2025 21:48

On Wednesday, the army said that it had taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp south of the city, which it characterized as the RSF's final foothold in central Sudan.

Sudan's army leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, arrived at Khartoum's presidential palace on Wednesday, pronouncing the capital "free" from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after almost two years of conflict.

"Khartoum is free, it's done," Burhan, Sudan's de facto leader, declared in a state television broadcast, ending a multi-day battle by his forces to retake downtown Khartoum's public institutions from paramilitary control.

Sudan's army announced Friday it had regained control of the presidential palace in Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces following intense fighting. On social media, soldiers shared videos appearing inside the presidential palace, exchanging congratulations. 

An army source stated that forces had already surrounded the RSF in its final major position in the Khartoum region, just south of the city center.

Military spokesperson Nabil Abdallah told AFP that the troops had reclaimed and "fully secured" Khartoum airport, where RSF forces had been stationed for nearly two years.

The capture comes a day after the army was accused of carrying out one of the war's most lethal air raids, killing dozens in a Darfur market, according to the United Nations. Witnesses say they found 270 bodies buried.

Following their seizure of the presidential palace in a crucial battlefield victory on Friday, the army swept into central Khartoum, wiping out paramilitary groups.

"The remnants of the RSF militia are fleeing" over the White Nile, said the army source to AFP, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

According to the source, the paramilitaries were utilizing the Jebel Awliya bridge as their last remaining route out of Khartoum, connecting to RSF positions west of the city and subsequently to its strongholds in Darfur.

Across Khartoum, witnesses and activists claimed this week that RSF fighters were retiring south, ostensibly towards Jebel Awliya.