Sudan's army retakes Khartoum airport from rebels

SUDAN'S army recaptures Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, military sources said on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan's army said in a statement it had also taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF's main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum. Read more here below.

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Report from BBC News
By Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Port Sudan
Dated Wednesday, 26 March 2025 - full copy:

Sudanese army recaptures Khartoum airport from civil war rivals

Image source, AFP. Image caption, Civilians have been celebrating the army's recent territorial gains, from the presidential palace to the airport in the capital Khartoum

The Sudanese army has told the BBC it has recaptured the airport in the capital, Khartoum, from the paramilitary RSF, marking its latest territorial gain in the brutal two-year civil war.

Gen Mahomed Abdel Rahman al-Bilawi said troops had fully secured it and might be able to clear the rest of the RSF fighters by the end of day.

The army has been moving swiftly since recapturing the presidential palace on Friday, and civilians have been celebrating in the streets as it advances.

The RSF had controlled most of the capital since the war began in April 2023. Nationwide, hundreds of thousands have been killed, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.

An army spokesperson told the BBC that troops have seized Manshiya Bridge, the last RSF-held bridge, along with a military camp in the group's southern stronghold.

But the war is far from over.

The RSF still holds almost all the Darfur region in western Sudan, where earlier this week, eyewitnesses said dozens of civilians were killed when the air force bombed a market.

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2g0ppj9lyo

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Related

Report from AP

By Associated Press

Dated Wed, 26 Mar 2025 Updated 1:49 PM GMT

Sudan’s military captures key RSF base as it consolidates control over Khartoum area

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s army said Wednesday it had recaptured a camp which was being used by the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group as a key base during its hold on the capital, Khartoum.

The development brings the military a step closer to declaring the capital fully liberated as it continues its advance toward key locations, including the airport. Troops last week retook the Republican Palace, which had been a stronghold of the RSF during the war that began in April 2023.

The Teiba al-Hasnab camp was the RSF’s last stronghold in Khartoum, army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah Ali said in a post on Facebook.

Full story: https://apnews.com/article/sudan-khartoum-army-rapid-support-forces-76b105423863fdc2e9243ceb54435033

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Report from RFI (Radio France Internationale)

Dated Wed, 26 Mar 2025 - 14:05

Sudanese army retakes Khartoum airport from rebels

The Sudanese army recaptured Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, military sources said on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan's army said in a statement it had also taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF's main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum.

The army secured both sides of Manshiya bridge, which crosses the Blue Nile in Khartoum, leaving the Jabel Awliya bridge just south of the capital as the only crossing out of the area still under RSF control.

Full story: https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250326-sudanese-army-retakes-khartoum-airport-from-rebels

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Sudan army retakes Khartoum palace, RSF fights back

SUDAN'S army announces its fighters have entered the presidential palace in the centre of Khartoum. In recent weeks the army has stepped up its campaign against the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city, which it lost at the start of the war in 2023. Reclaiming Khartoum would be a huge victory for the army and a pivotal moment in the conflict. But the RSF says it is fighting back and claims to have launched an attack on the palace. The RSF also still controls large parts of the country – including much of the west. The two-year civil war has caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.

Source: BBC News Live Reporting Summary dated Fri 21 Mar 2025 GMT
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5y0w7pjnp2t
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BBC Verify has checked video and images appearing on social media showing Sudanese army forces around the presidential palace in Khartoum: We’ve matched the features of the buildings and grounds to images available on Google and visible on satellite imagery and checked that these videos have not appeared before. They show soldiers celebrating and announcing today’s date. Celebratory gunfire can also be heard. The footage also reveals extensive damage to the outside of the palace, as well as destruction inside one of the buildings.

Source: BBC Verify by Peter Mwai published Fri 21 Mar 2025 10:43 GMT

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5y0w7pjnp2t

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In pictures: Sudanese army celebrates

Many posts on social media are showing jubilant soldiers waving their guns in the air, cheering and kneeling to pray at the entrance to the presidential palace. Here are some stills from footage that's been recorded:

Source: BBC News Live Reporting published Fri 21 Mar 2025 09:13 GMT

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5y0w7pjnp2t?post=asset%3Aada8b5df-4c08-4fe3-9341-0ff9c927ef21#post

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Sudanese soldiers celebrate victory with selfies

More images have been coming through from earlier today of troops celebrating at the presidential palace. The soldiers have been sharing them on social media:

Source: BBC News Live reporting published Fri 21 Mar 2025 12:43 GMT UK

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5y0w7pjnp2t?post=asset%3A8aa2af5f-0b61-43f1-a282-b23dc6834056#post

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This is not the end of the war

The taking of the presidential palace and - if it happens - the recapture of the entire capital by the army would be a significant moment, but it is not the end of the two-year conflict. The RSF paramilitary force still controls large parts of the country, including much of the western Darfur region which has seen some of the deadliest violence over the past two years.

Source: BBC News Live reporting published Fri 21 Mar 2025 09:18 GMT

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5y0w7pjnp2t?post=asset%3A8c407307-14ca-4ed5-a201-46a7d97c8c37#post

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Sudan conflict spilling into oil-rich Abyei. South Sudan postpones its December 2024 election by two years

THE WORLD must not forget what is happening in South Sudan and Abyei, an oil-rich area on the border of South Sudan and Sudan. South Sudan postponed its first elections scheduled for December. Read more below.

Report from defenceWeb
Dated 07 November 2024 - full copy:

 Sudan conflict spilling into Abyei

UNISFA peacekeepers on humanitarian duty. Picture: United Nations.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) this week heard ongoing conflict in Sudan is “exacerbating instability” in Abyei, a 10 000 plus square kilometre contested area between Sudan and the world’s youngest country, South Sudan.

According to the world body, which has a peacekeeping mission on the ground in the oil-rich area, Abyei is claimed by both sides – RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and the Sudan Armed Force (SAF). The UN mission – UNISFA (UN Interim Security Force for Abyei) was first deployed in June 2011 and currently has 4 190 uniformed members and 3 743 civilians on its personnel strength.

Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa at the UN Department of Peace Operations, told ambassadors on the Security Council the Sudan war continues to have a profound impact on the security, economic and humanitarian situations in South Sudan and Sudan.

Since the power struggle between rival militaries in Sudan began last April, Abyei and its neighbours have grappled with disruptions in oil production and surging refugee arrivals. These setbacks left already stretched resources in South Sudan under greater strain, with thousands of refugees enduring shortages of clean water, food and healthcare services.

Pobee highlighted continued proliferation of arms and heightened tensions, as observed with the recent incursion of RSF combatants into Abyei’s Aman-Aquak and Mijak counties, with reports of looting.

“The movement of armed groups is compounding the fragile security situation in South Sudan and Abyei,  particularly in relation to the pre-existing tensions between the Twic Mayardit and Ngok Dinka communities across Warrap state and Abyei,” she said.

Also this week, the African Union (AU) by way of its special envoy on the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities, added its condemnation of the ongoing Sudan conflict.

A statement has Adama Dieng saying reports of “grave crimes” including mass killing, summary executions, sexual assault, abduction, torture and looting have emerged despite a telecommunication black-out. As special envoy he urges the leaders of the two main fighting forces General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Dagalo “Hemedti” to de-escalate the fighting and, among others, refrain from targeting civilians.

View original: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/african-news/sudan-conflict-spilling-into-abyei/

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Related reports

From Al Jazeera 

Dated 14 September 2024 - excerpt:

South Sudan postpones December election by two years

Government says it needs more time to complete a census, draft a permanent constitution and register political parties.

President Salva Kiir, who has led South Sudan since it became independent from Sudan in 2011, had promised to hold elections in 2024 

[File: Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]

South Sudan’s government has announced it is postponing long-delayed general elections until December 2026, citing a lack of preparedness. This is the second time the country, which gained independence in 2011, is postponing elections and extending a transitional period that started in February 2020. 

Full story: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/14/south-sudan-postpones-december-election-by-two-years

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From What's In Blue 

Dated 06 November 2024 - excerpt:

South Sudan: Briefing and Consultations

An expected focus of tomorrow’s [07 November] meeting is the 13 September decision by the signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to extend the transitional period by 24 months. The decision postponed again the country’s first post-independence elections, which were scheduled for December 2024, until December 2026, and extended the transitional period until February 2027. The original transitional period outlined in the R-ARCSS was set to end in February 2023; it had been extended until February 2025 through a roadmap adopted in August 2022. (For background and more information, see the brief on South Sudan in our November 2024 Monthly Forecast.)

Full story: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2024/11/south-sudan-briefing-and-consultations-26.php

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From The Conversation 

By Steven C. Roach

Dated 08 November 2024 - excerpt:

Salva Kiir: South Sudan’s president fought for independence, but then fuelled division, violence and corruption

Salva Kiir Mayardit has served as South Sudan’s president since the country’s independence in 2011. South Sudan’s secession from Sudan came on the heels of a long and bloody civil war that resulted in a referendum on independence. The initial optimism about the new state faded within two years when Kiir fell out with his vice-president, Riek Machar. The resulting civil war displaced some four million people and killed an estimated 388,000 people. With the two warring sides unable to reach agreement, the government postponed elections indefinitely in 2015 amid continuing civil strife.

Full story: https://theconversation.com/salva-kiir-south-sudans-president-fought-for-independence-but-then-fuelled-division-violence-and-corruption-242747

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From The East African 

By Garang Malak

Dated 08 November 2024 - excerpt:

South Sudan holdouts agree to resume peace talks in Nairobi

President Ruto says parties to the South Sudan peace process have agreed to resume mediation

Kenya's President William Ruto makes remarks, during the swearing-in ceremony of his new Deputy President, Kithure Kindiki, at the Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on November 1, 2024. Kindiki is an academic turned politician who was thrust into the limelight when he defended his boss President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court. The 52-year-old millionaire served as interior minister for more than two years before taking over as deputy president on November 1, 2024 following the historic impeachment of his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua. (Photo by SIMON MAINA/Agence France-Presse (AFP)/AFP

South Sudan’s holdout groups, the non-signatories to the 2018 peace agreement, have agreed to resume peace talks in Nairobi after months of expressing security concerns and dissatisfaction with the process. This development follows Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to Juba on Wednesday, where he held talks with President Salva Kiir, First Vice President Riek Machar and other key stakeholders in the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).

Full story: https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/south-sudan-holdouts-agree-to-resume-peace-talks-in-nairobi-a3ontus8

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Map showing the situation in Sudan as of 01 Aug 2024

THANKS to @ThomasVLinge for #Sudan map update showing the situation in Sudan as of 01 August 2024: "In the month of July the RSF continued its advance along the Blue Nile and around Singa, reaching the #SouthSudan border and the crossing the Dinder river."

Red: Sudanese Armed Forces (Burhan)

Yellow: Rapid Support Forces (Hemedti)

Dark Green (Rebels): Pale blue SPLM-N (El-Hilu) plus Dark blue SLA (Abdul Wahid El Nur)

Pale green: Darfur Joint Force (Minnawi & Ibrahim) 

Turquoise: SSPDF* (South Sudan)

*SSPDF presence is limited to the Abyei Area, the final status of which is yet to be determined. 

Download larger file: https://mediafire.com/file/q3myqc3c0yxg0l8/2000px-Sudan.png/file

Source: https://ko-fi.com/thomasvlinge

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