Sudanese army claims gains in Khartoum, fighting intensifies elsewhere

February 5, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese army said on Wednesday its forces had made strategic advances in Khartoum after heavy fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while clashes intensified in other parts of the country.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah said in a statement that troops had captured the Al-Rumaila district, a medical supply depot, an industrial area, and the state’s currency mint in southern Khartoum, pushing back RSF fighters, whom he referred to as “the Daglo militia.”

Military sources told Sudan Tribune that army armoured units advanced north from the Al-Rawad towers, taking control of the Al-Rumaila area and the industrial zone southwest of central Khartoum after fierce clashes. They added that five military vehicles and an armoured vehicle were seized from the RSF.

Videos circulated online, purportedly showing army deployments in Al-Rumaila and the industrial area, as well as captured RSF equipment. The army’s presence in Al-Rumaila brings its forces closer to Al-Ghaba Street, a key thoroughfare leading to central Khartoum, where RSF troops and their strategic headquarters are located. Another army contingent is positioned in the Al-Muqran area, also near the city centre.

The army aims to break the RSF’s encirclement of its armoured units and link up with other troops stationed in Al-Muqran and the military’s general command in central Khartoum.

On Jan. 25, the army announced the completion of the first phase of its operations in Khartoum, linking forces from Omdurman and North Bahri with those at the Signal Corps headquarters, ending a 21-month siege of the general command.

Witnesses reported heavy smoke rising from RSF-controlled areas east of Khartoum Bahri, coinciding with army artillery fire from Omdurman. The RSF reportedly shelled the Al-Kadru suburb north of Khartoum Bahri, which is under army control. Sudan Tribune could not independently verify these reports.

Fighting in Al-Jazirah state

In al-Jazira state, south of Khartoum, local resistance committees said the army was engaged in intense battles to retake the town of Abu Quta from the RSF, which has held it since December 2023. Abu Quta lies northwest of Al-Jazirah, near the borders of Khartoum and White Nile states, about 65 km (40 miles) from Jebel Aulia, an RSF stronghold.

The army resumed operations in Al-Jazirah on Jan. 31, claiming control of Rufa’a and Tambool and advancing to Soba, east of Khartoum. It also said it had captured al-Hisahisa, Al-Kamilin and several villages near southern Khartoum.

Sudan Tribune was unable to confirm the battlefield accounts from either side independently. The conflict between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has caused a humanitarian crisis and displaced millions.