The Sudanese army says it is now in full control of the presidential palace in downtown after nearly two years of fighting with rebel forces.
The seizure of the Republican Palace, surrounded by government ministries, represents a major symbolic victory against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the army said in a statement on Friday.
The statement underlined, however, that it doesn’t mean the end of the war as the RSF holds territory in western Darfur region and elsewhere and threatens to partition the country.
The RSF later issued a statement claiming its forces “are still present of the vicinity of the area, fighting bravely.”
However, videos posted on social media showed soldiers, inside the palace appeared to be partly in ruins, talking about the 21st day of Ramadan in order to confirm their presence there.
Khaled al-Aiser, Sudan’s information minister also confirmed in his post on his X account that the military had retaken the palace. ““Today the flag is raised, the palace is back and the journey continues until victory is complete,” he wrote.
The fall of the Republican Palace, along the Nile River that was the seat of government before the war, marks another battlefield gain for Sudan’s military in recent months under Genera, Abdel-Fattah Burhan.
Sudan has been unstable since a popular uprising forced President Omar al-Bashir to quit in 2019 that was followed by a military coup in 2021.
The RSF later ignited a fresh battle with the regular army over a number of demands and was able to seize some places. According to the United Nations, the conflict in the African country has created the world’s largest and humanitarian crisis.
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