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As the army retakes key locations in Khartoum, RSF continues deadly attacks on civilians and strategic areas
Three civilians, including two children and a woman, were killed on Sunday in an artillery attack by paramilitary forces on Omdurman, a part of Greater Khartoum, according to a medical source. This attack came just two days after Sudan’s army recaptured the presidential palace in the capital, marking a major symbolic victory.
Residents in Omdurman described the shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as some of the most intense in recent months. One resident, speaking anonymously, said that while past attacks had brief pauses between rounds of shelling, this time, seven explosions happened one after another.
Sudan has been in conflict since April 2023, with the RSF fighting against the country’s regular army. The war has caused massive suffering, killing tens of thousands of people and forcing over 12 million to flee their homes. It has also led to severe hunger and displacement crises.
Even though the army’s recent victories in Khartoum are significant, analysts warn that this does not mean the war is nearing an end. The RSF still controls remote areas of the country and continues to launch attacks, including a deadly strike on a displacement camp in the famine-stricken Darfur region.
Recently, the army and allied groups have managed to reclaim much of Khartoum’s government district, located just across the Nile from Omdurman. However, RSF fighters are still positioned in parts of the city, including the airport, and in the south and west of the capital.
From their positions in western Omdurman, the RSF frequently launches attacks on civilian areas. In February, one such attack killed over 50 people in a crowded market.
After suffering multiple defeats, the army started regaining control in late 2023. Since January, it has recaptured large sections of Khartoum, including the presidential palace. In response, the RSF launched what it called a “lightning operation,” which included a drone strike that killed three journalists and several army personnel.
The army has since intensified its efforts to remove RSF fighters from the city center. On Saturday, it took control of several important state buildings, including the central bank, state intelligence headquarters, and the national museum. A source from the RSF admitted that some of their fighters had retreated but claimed they were still fighting fiercely near the airport.
Additionally, the army regained control of Tuti Island, a key location at the meeting point of the Blue and White Nile rivers. The island had been under RSF control for nearly two years.
Even with the army’s gains in Khartoum, Sudan remains divided. The army holds the eastern and northern regions, while the RSF controls almost all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south. The paramilitary group has been trying to capture El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, for ten months but has not succeeded.
On Sunday, RSF shelling hit a displacement camp in El-Fasher, killing two civilians and injuring three others. The previous day, at least 45 civilians were killed when the RSF seized the small town of Al-Malha, about 200 kilometers northeast of El-Fasher. Al-Malha is an important location in the desert region near the Libya-Sudan border, where the RSF relies on supply routes that have been under attack from army-allied groups.
The RSF has also claimed control of Lagawa, a town in West Kordofan, about 600 kilometers southwest of Khartoum. Eyewitnesses in Lagawa reported that RSF fighters had set up checkpoints on the streets, strengthening their control over the town.
The conflict in Sudan has been marked by widespread violence against civilians, including bombings and artillery attacks on homes, markets, and displacement camps. With both sides continuing to fight for control, the suffering of ordinary people in Sudan is far from over.