Khartoum — After two days of fighting, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) today, March 21, recaptured control of the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias. The latter had captured the palace, a symbolic target, at the beginning of the war that broke out in April 2023.

The recapture of the presidential palace marks another turning point in the army-led military operations in the capital. The Rapid Support Forces now only control a bridge over the Nile connecting Khartoum to western Sudan, through which they can receive supplies and reinforcements or leave the city.

However, late this morning, RSF representatives stated that they had not yet abandoned the area near the presidential palace and that the fighting was not over. It is difficult to say whether the recapture of Khartoum by the Sudanese army under the command of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan will bring an end to the war.

The Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, still control the Darfur region in the west of the country, considered their stronghold. The RSF has also declared a "parallel government" (see Fides, 19/2/2025), making a peaceful solution to the conflict difficult. The Sudanese war has led to the world's largest humanitarian catastrophe, without a single ceasefire since the fighting began. RSF bombings, Congolese army airstrikes, hunger, and disease have claimed at least 61,000 lives in Khartoum state alone.