Sudanese army takes control of airport, forces RSF out of central Khartoum

Sudan Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced that "Khartoum has been liberated." This followed his forces retaking the airport from the Rapid Support Forces on Wednesday, after which he flew to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. This event marks a significant advance for the Sudan Armed Forces in their two-year war against the Rapid Support Forces.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Rapid Support Forces had largely withdrawn from the capital, with Sudanese army forces deploying in multiple neighborhoods. This comes after the Sudanese army fully controlled the Presidential Palace in Khartoum last Friday, which had been occupied by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for two years. Al Jazeera broadcast footage of Burhan inside the Presidential Palace, where he declared "Khartoum has been liberated."

After gradually approaching the Presidential Palace on the banks of the Blue Nile in recent days, the government, aligned with the military, announced last Friday that it had retaken the building. Sudan's Minister of Information, Khaled El-Ese, wrote on social media platform X: "Today, the flag is raised again, the Presidential Palace returns, and the journey towards complete victory continues." The Rapid Support Forces seized the Presidential Palace building and large areas of the capital in April 2023, when the war between them and the Sudanese army broke out.

The conflict has brought profound suffering to the Sudanese people. Both sides of the conflict have been accused of war crimes. In recent months, as fighting has intensified, the number of civilian deaths in Sudan has surged, with shelling, airstrikes, and drone attacks constantly hitting civilian areas. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that during February, at least 275 people were killed between January 31 and February 5 alone, triple the number of the previous week.

The humanitarian crisis is increasingly severe. Since April 2023, an estimated 150,000 people have been killed. According to the United Nations, 12.5 million Sudanese have been displaced. The conflict has led to the collapse of medical infrastructure, unable to meet needs, and violence has stretched limited resources, with two-thirds of major hospitals ceasing operations. Islamic Relief revealed earlier this month that Sudan's healthcare system is nearing collapse, with three to four patients sharing a single bed. In eastern Sudan, overwhelmed medical staff described dire conditions, with patients either being turned away or dying on the floor.