Khartoum / Jebel Aulia / Port Sudan — The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) says yesterday they cleared the last remaining pockets of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and freed dozens of prisoners from RSF-run detention centres in Jebel Aulia as well as controlling the reservoir, south of the capital.

Head of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-chief of the SAF, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, said the SAF were working to create conditions for an elected civilian government. "The armed forces do not want to engage in political action," he said.

The RSF dismissed claims of defeat, saying it had "repositioned" its forces to achieve its military objectives. In its first statement yesterday, following the army's announcement, the RSF insisted it was ensuring the "resolution of this battle for the benefit of the Sudanese people."

The army rejected RSF claims that its withdrawal was part of an agreement, instead calling it a battlefield retreat. "Their shameful escape in front of our victorious forces exposes their falsehoods," the military said.

Minister of Culture and Information Khaled Aleiser said Sudan was "just around the corner" from forming a new civilian-led government of technocrats selected for their expertise.

He stressed that military operations would continue until the RSF was fully defeated, including in West Kordofan and along the Chadian border.He dismissed the idea of a "parallel government as a fantasy", saying it had been rejected by the international community