Sudanese Forces Strike Back: Presidential Palace Taken from RSF Control.
Sudan’s military has retaken control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, marking a significant breakthrough against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have dominated large parts of the country since the conflict erupted in April 2023.
The intense power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF has plunged the nation into one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Initiative, over 28,000 people have been killed, and around 11 million have been forced to flee their homes.
Since the conflict began, the RSF had maintained a firm grip on Khartoum. But on Friday, the Sudanese government declared that its forces had seized back the Presidential Palace and vowed to continue efforts to reclaim the entire capital.
“Today the flag is raised, the palace is back, and the journey continues until victory is complete,” Sudanese Information Minister Khalid Al-Aiser posted on X.
While this victory is significant, the battle for Khartoum is far from over. The RSF still holds strategic control over large areas of the city, particularly in the western, southern, and central parts, including the volatile Darfur region, where ethnically driven violence remains rampant. The SAF, on the other hand, has maintained its hold over the eastern and northern regions of Sudan.
Reclaiming Khartoum would not only be a strategic victory but also a symbolic one for the SAF. The RSF had already begun setting up structures to form a parallel government, making the fight for the capital even more critical. However, the human cost of this power struggle has been devastating.
“Dozens of civilians, including local humanitarian workers, have been killed by artillery and airstrikes in eastern Khartoum and north Omdurman since March 12,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office.
Both the SAF and RSF have faced serious accusations of human rights violations and war crimes. In January, the United States formally accused the RSF of committing genocide — the second such accusation in Sudan in the past 20 years.
A recent UNICEF report also implicated the SAF in grave abuses, including cases of sexual violence against young children, some as young as one year old.
Magango further reported that “credible accounts suggest the RSF and allied militias have been raiding homes in eastern Khartoum, conducting summary executions, detaining people arbitrarily, and looting food and medical supplies from community kitchens and health clinics.” He added that SAF-affiliated fighters have also been accused of looting and other criminal acts in areas they control in Khartoum North (Bahri) and East Nile, with reports of ongoing arbitrary arrests in East Nile.
Despite the SAF’s recent success, the conflict remains complex and far from resolution. The battle for Sudan’s capital — and its future — continues.
