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The residents said RSF troops had withdrawn and the army had deployed across the city center after two years of devastating conflict that is splitting the massive country into rival zones of control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



‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
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‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)

The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reached a landmark agreement on Thursday that ends a years-long dispute over oil revenues and public sector salaries.

The deal, announced following an emergency cabinet meeting in Baghdad, covers oil production handover, non-oil revenue sharing, and the resumption of salary payments to KRG employees beginning with May 2025.

According to a government statement, the agreement was based on a recommendation by a ministerial committee and aligned with Kurdistan’s regional cabinet decision No. 285, issued on July 16.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani confirmed the breakthrough, stating that the federal government had approved a “mutual understanding regarding salaries and the region’s financial entitlements.”

Under the terms of the deal, the KRG will hand over all crude oil production - currently 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) - to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), with the exception of 50,000 bpd reserved for domestic consumption. This marks the first such commitment in more than two years, during which oil exports were suspended amid ongoing disputes and recent drone strikes targeting northern oilfields operated mostly by US firms.

In return, the federal Ministry of Finance will pay $16 per barrel, in cash or in kind, to cover production costs. Revenues from locally consumed oil derivatives will go to the federal treasury after deducting production and transport expenses.

On non-oil revenues, the KRG will transfer an initial 120 billion Iraqi dinars (approx. $92 million) to the federal finance ministry, representing an estimate of Baghdad’s share for May. A joint audit team from both governments will verify and finalize the figures within two weeks.

To resolve long-standing disputes over public salaries, a new joint committee will oversee the localization of KRG employee payrolls, in line with a ruling from the Federal Supreme Court. The committee is expected to complete its work within three months.

As part of the agreement’s first phase, the federal government will begin disbursing May salaries following confirmation from SOMO that the agreed oil volumes have been received.