Army says it has ousted paramilitaries from Khartoum

Sudanese army announced Tuesday that it had ousted paramilitaries from their last positions in Omdurman, in the capital's metropolitan area, thus completing its takeover of the entire state of Khartoum after a major operation.

The troops of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, the army commander and de facto leader of the country since a coup in 2021, launched this offensive on Monday against the city of Omdurman, located to the west of the capital, where some of the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had retreated.

The state of Khartoum, which includes the capital Khartoum and several surrounding regions, “is completely liberated from the rebels,” said the army spokesman, Nabil Abdallah, in a statement. The army had regained control of the center of the capital in March, driving the paramilitaries to positions in Omdurman. The RSF has not immediately commented on the army's announcement.

After their setback in Khartoum in March, the paramilitaries increased drone attacks against several cities at a distance from the capital, notably Port Sudan, the provisional seat of the government in the east of the country. According to the army, the drones used by the RSF are supplied by the United Arab Emirates, which has formally denied this.

“Democratic governance”

The third-largest country in Africa by area is divided by the bloody power struggle between General al-Burhane and his former deputy, Mohammad Hamdane Dagalo, the head of the RSF, since April 2023. Alongside the fighting, each seeks to consolidate his positions internationally.

On Monday, General Burhane appointed the former director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Kamel al-Tayeb Idris Abdelhafiz, as Prime Minister. He also appointed two women to the Sovereign Council, in power since the 2021 coup. His intention, according to experts, is to legitimize his camp in the eyes of the international community with a functional civilian government despite the war. The Arab League hailed the appointment of Abdelhafiz as an “important step toward the resumption of the activities of civilian institutions.” The African Union, from which Sudan was suspended in 2021, hoped that this appointment would “restore constitutional order and democratic governance in Sudan.”

At the same time, Burhane annulled by decree the supervisory powers of the Sovereign Council over the government, further consolidating his authority. He hopes to “maintain power but share responsibility ... because everything is now blamed on him,” according to Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair.

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited General Burhane on Tuesday to participate in the first Russia-Arab summit, scheduled for October 15, according to a statement from the Sovereign Council.

In mid-April, General Dagalo announced the formation of a rival government, which, according to the UN, risks “aggravating the fragmentation of the country.”

“A major escalation”

Currently, General Burhane's army controls the center, east, and north of the country, while the RSF dominates the west with almost the entire vast region of Darfur and some parts of the south.

RSF strikes on Port Sudan, a city long spared from fighting and now the epicenter of humanitarian aid, have damaged several strategic infrastructures, including the last operational civilian airport in Sudan. “The scale of these drone attacks represents a major escalation in the conflict,” warned U.N. human rights expert Radhouane Nouicer in a statement in Geneva.

According to him, these strikes targeting heavily populated areas “worsen the humanitarian situation.” Last week, an attack on three power plants in Khartoum caused a power outage, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), disrupting the operation of two major hospitals in Omdurman. Cholera is spreading across the country, with 2,323 new cases recorded, including 51 deaths over the past three weeks, 90% of which are in the state of Khartoum, according to health authorities.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million others, and caused what the UN describes as the world's “worst humanitarian crisis” at present.