On Friday, the Sudanese military reclaimed control of the presidential palace in Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces, delivering a significant setback to the paramilitary group, which retaliated with fatal drone strikes.
According to an army source, state television aired footage of combatants rejoicing at the palace, after which three of their own reporters were reportedly slain in a drone attack.
They were reporting on the military recapturing the Republican Palace when an RSF single-direction attack drone hit the compound, resulting in casualties among the army personnel as well, according to a source who spoke with AFP anonymously.
In a statement shared to Telegram, the RSF said it had launched a 'lightning operation' around the palace which 'killed more than 89 enemy personnel and destroyed various military vehicles'.
"The fight for the Republican Palace isn't finished yet," the RSF declared.
Eyewitnesses described several drones attacking the location as troops had jubilantly moved through the charred corridors of the palace.
In the video clip aired by state television, youthful male volunteers wearing yellow bandanas—fighters who had joined forces with the military—could be seen waving flags and emitting celebratory cries from behind broken windowpanes.
The intense struggle for control among Sudan’s competing military leaders started on April 15, 2023, as large parts of Khartoum rapidly succumbed to the RSF.
The soldiers from the conventional military were no match for the agile paramilitary forces during the fight for control of the capital city’s thoroughfares.
Over the past nearly two years, the conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 12 million individuals, encompassing more than half of Greater Khartoum’s pre-war population.
Following numerous demoralizing losses for the military, the course of the conflict appeared to shift towards the end of last year when the forces initiated an offensive in the key agricultural region of Al-JazIRA, capitalizing on the desertion of a regional leader.
The retaking of the presidential palace, which represents Sudanese sovereignty, is considered a setback for the RSF, according to a retired general who spoke with AFP. The official also mentioned that the paramilitary forces pulling out of Khartoum is just "a matter of time."
However, RSF combatants remain dispersed throughout the central area of the city, taking cover in adjacent structures and positioned within portions of the damaged airport, according to military sources.
The paramilitary forces continue to bombard army-controlled areas within the city from their leftover positions in the western and southern peripheries, according to additional information provided by the sources.
A military analyst informed AFP that the RSF had suffered significant losses of skilled combatants during the fight for the presidential palace.
"As the army took over the Republican Palace, gaining control of central Khartoum, the militia effectively lost its elite units," stated an expert who wished to remain anonymous for personal security reasons.
'The military has now demolished equipment, eliminated several of their combatants, and taken hold of one of its key supply hubs in Khartoum.'
The RSF committed to keep fighting to oust the army from territories it has reclaimed.
In a video message last week, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo pledged to oppose the army's counterattack.
The military declared an operation aimed at 'purging' the downtown area of remaining RSF combatants.
'A military source informed AFP that remnants of the RSF militias have retreated into several structures' in downtown Khartoum. The source wished to remain anonymous as they were unauthorized to talk to the press.
An army spokesperson named Nabil Abdallah stated that the forces would "keep advancing on all fronts until total victory is achieved and every part of our nation is cleared of the militiamen and their allies."
The army’s reconquest of the presidential palace might result in their regain over larger parts of Khartoum, yet extensive areas in the west, particularly Darfur, along with significant portions of the south, continue to be predominantly under RSF control.
Over eight million out of Sudan’s roughly 50 million inhabitants are teetering on the edge of starvation, with famine having already been announced in five regions. Almost 25 million individuals are grappling with severe food shortages.
Read more
0 Comments