Conflict in Sudan: Sudan’s government troops conquer presidential palace

According to the government, the Sudanese army has recaptured the Presidential Palace in Khartum from the Miliz RSF. “The flag is hoisted, the palace has returned,” wrote the Sudanese information minister Khaled al-E-ON on the Telegram platform. A army spokesman spoke of a “crowning glory of our success” on Friday morning. Several ministry buildings are again under control of the army. The RSF militia, which has been fighting for power with government forces for almost two years, did not initially comment on it.

Even before the official messages, spontaneous victory celebrations had broken out in Khartum and adjacent cities such as Omdurman after soldiers and eyewitnesses on social media posted pictures and videos from the President Palace. Despite clear martial traces, cheering soldiers waved Sudanese flags and rifles there.

Heavy fights have been preceded in the past few days. An RSF spokesman spoke of more than 600 deaths at the militia on Thursday

The conquest of the palace is a symbolic signal for the army. The building stands for the independence and sovereignty of the country. The Sudanese military had started a great offensive weeks ago to push the RSF back from the capital of Khartum. The fact that the palace was recaptured in the Muslim month of fasting Ramadan has now been particularly emphasized.

End of the conflict not foreseeable

Despite the recent successes of the army in the greater Khartum area and in the state of the Sudan, Al Jasira, which is considered to be a grain chamber of the Sudan, an end to the almost two -year civil war is not foreseeable. DE-FACTO head of state Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the commander of the RSF (Rapid Support Forces).

The government troops have regained strategically important areas in the east of the country. However, the situation is different in the western parts of the country, especially in the Darfur region.

Millions of people driven out

The control of the city of El Fascher has been fighting for almost a year. The capital of Nord-Darfur is the last big city in Darfur, which is still under the control of government forces. The ongoing struggles and the siege of the city also have a serious impact on the Samam refugee camp a few kilometers away, according to estimates 500,000 to one million people live. The camp was repeatedly shot at and, according to Sudanese aid organizations, is completely surrounded by the RSF.

The humanitarian situation in the camp has recently moved up, since among other things the world nutrition program and doctors without limits, some of the last international organizations, had to hire their work for security reasons.

According to the UN, 12.9 million people have now been sold by the conflict. The civil war in the north -east African country has thus triggered the world’s largest refugee crisis.

Both sides of the conflict – but especially the RSF – are accused of serious human rights violations, sexual violence and arbitrary shootings by civilians. Ethnic displacements in the Darfur region are also charged with the RSF.

Restrictions against Kenya

The RSF, together with other political and military groups, is currently trying to build a counter government in the areas it conquered. The founding meeting for this parallel government had taken place in the Kenyan capital Nairobi a few weeks ago.

The Sudanese government then accused the East African country of support for the RSF and banned the import of Kenyan. Kenya traditionally exports large quantities of tea into the Sudan. However, exports had decreased significantly due to the conflict since 2023. Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had rejected the allegations and advocated a political solution to the conflict.