Sudanese army announces significant progress in central Khartoum, paramilitary forces deny

KHARTOUM - The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) declared on Sunday that its troops had made significant progress in the capital Khartoum, a claim denied by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"Our forces have made significant progress in central Khartoum," SAF spokesman Nabil Abdalla said in a brief statement.

The SAF also released a statement on its Facebook page on Sunday, announcing that "military forces from the Al-Shajara area, supported by armored vehicles, successfully expelled the RSF from several key areas to the south of central Khartoum, including the Family Club, the Al Mansheiya Bridge, the Nile Towers, and the Sherwani area".

However, an RSF spokesperson denied the SAF's claims. "We have crushed and destroyed the (army) forces that infiltrated the Sherwani area, the Nile Towers, and the Al Mansheiya Bridge," El Basha Tabig, advisor to the RSF commander, said in a statement.

The SAF is attempting to encircle the RSF forces, which are stationed in central Khartoum and continue to control key sites, including the Presidential Palace and important military sites in the Al-Mogran area.

According to previous reports from the Sudanese army, three mobile forces, advancing from Omdurman in the north, East Nile in the east, and the edge of Gezira state in the south, are coordinating efforts to encircle central Khartoum.

On Saturday, RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo hinted at a potential escalation in central Khartoum.

"Our forces will remain in the Presidential Palace, Al-Mogran, and Khartoum, and will not leave," Dagalo said in a televised speech broadcast on his Telegram account.

"The RSF strategy has changed after forming political and military alliances," he added, referring to the signing of a charter in February with allies in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to form a parallel government.

Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023, which has claimed at least 29,683 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group.

The conflict has also displaced over 15 million people, both inside and outside Sudan, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration.