Sudan’s Burhan Declares Khartoum’s Liberation from RSF

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at the presidential palace in Khartoum. (Sovereignty Council/X)
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at the presidential palace in Khartoum. (Sovereignty Council/X)
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Sudan’s Burhan Declares Khartoum’s Liberation from RSF

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at the presidential palace in Khartoum. (Sovereignty Council/X)
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at the presidential palace in Khartoum. (Sovereignty Council/X)

The Sudanese army drove its rival Rapid Support Forces from most of Khartoum city, residents said on Wednesday, as army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan toured the presidential palace and airport, marking a major military gain though the wider war looks far from over.

Speaking from the palace, Burhan declared: “Khartoum has been liberated from the RSF. It is over.”

The residents said RSF troops had withdrawn and the army had deployed across the city center after two years of devastating conflict that is splitting the massive country into rival zones of control with the RSF still deeply embedded in western Sudan.

Burhan flew into Khartoum airport, located in the center of the capital, and toured the presidential palace, his ruling council said in a statement, in a demonstration of the army's control over the area.

An army statement said his flight into the airport was the first to land there since the outbreak of war in April 2023.

The army also said it had gained control of a major RSF base south of the capital that it said was the paramilitary group's last major stronghold in Khartoum state.

It released drone footage of scores of people walking across a dam that it said showed RSF forces retreating across the Nile. Reuters was not able to confirm that the footage showed RSF forces and the RSF did not immediately comment on Wednesday's military developments.

Recent army gains in central Sudan, retaking districts of the capital and other territory, come as the RSF has consolidated its control in the west, hardening battle lines and threatening to move the country towards a de facto partition.

The war, which erupted two years ago as the country was attempting a democratic transition, has caused what the UN calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with famine in several areas as well as outbreaks of disease.

It has driven 12.5 million people from their homes, many of them seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

ERUPTION OF WARFARE

The army and RSF had at one point been in a fragile partnership together, jointly staging a coup in 2021 that derailed the transition from the rule of Omar al-Bashir, a longtime ruler who was ousted in 2019.

They had also fought on the same side for years in the western state of Darfur under Bashir's government.

The RSF, under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, developed from Darfur's janjaweed militias and Bashir developed the group as a counterweight to the army, led by career officer Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

After they seized power together in 2021, the two sides clashed over an internationally backed plan aimed at launching a new transition with civilian parties that would require them both to cede powers.

Major points of dispute included a timetable for the RSF to integrate into the regular armed forces, the chain of command between army and RSF leaders, and the question of civilian oversight.

When fighting broke out, Sudan's army had better resources including air power. However, the RSF was more deeply embedded in neighborhoods across Khartoum and was able to hold much of the capital in an initial, devastating burst of warfare.

The RSF also made rapid advances to gain control of its main stronghold of Darfur and over El Gezira state, south of Khartoum, a big farming area.

With the army now re-establishing its position in the capital, it is making a new push to cement its control in the center of Sudan. 



Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill at Least 27 Palestinians

Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
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Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill at Least 27 Palestinians

Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday killed at least 27 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month. It has cut off the territory's 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March in what it says is an attempt to pressure the militant group to release hostages.
The daily bombardment and widespread hunger is taking a heavy toll on Gaza's most vulnerable residents, including pregnant women and children.
An airstrike hit a home in Beit Lahiya, killing 10 people, including a Palestinian prisoner, Abdel-Fattah Abu Mahadi, who had been released as part of the ceasefire, The Associated Press reported. His wife, two of their children and a grandchild were also killed, according to the Indonesian Hospital, which received the bodies.
Another strike hit a home in Gaza City, killing seven people, including two women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service. Two other people were wounded.
Late Sunday, a strike hit a home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least 10 people, including five siblings as young as 4 years old, according to the Health Ministry. Two other children were killed along with their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.