320 Sudan Troops Flee Fighting to Chad

Smoke in Khartoum sky, Sudan - AP
Smoke in Khartoum sky, Sudan - AP
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320 Sudan Troops Flee Fighting to Chad

Smoke in Khartoum sky, Sudan - AP
Smoke in Khartoum sky, Sudan - AP

Around 320 Sudanese soldiers have fled the fighting raging in their country to neighbouring Chad, the country's defense minister said Wednesday.

"They arrived in our territory, were disarmed and detained" on Sunday, General Daoud Yaya Brahim told a press conference, saying the troops feared being killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battling those of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

"The situation in Sudan is worrying and deplorable, we have taken all the necessary measures in the face of this crisis," the minister said, AFP reported.

He added, however, that "this war does not concern us, it's between the Sudanese, and we must remain vigilant against all eventualities."

Chad had closed Saturday its border crossings with Sudan, stretching for more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) across open desert, which are often crossed by rebel groups from both countries.

Thousands of people have fled the shooting and bombings in Khartoum since fighting erupted between two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: Al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF.



Sudan Army Says Retakes Khartoum-Area Market from RSF

 A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
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Sudan Army Says Retakes Khartoum-Area Market from RSF

 A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)

The Sudanese army said on Saturday it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, long used by its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a staging ground for attacks.

It is the latest conquest in the army's major offensive this month to wrest back control of the entire capital region, which includes Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri -- three cities split by branches of the River Nile.

The blitz saw the army recapture the presidential palace on March 21, followed by the war-damaged airport and other key sites in the city center.

In a statement, army spokesman Nabil Abdullah said forces extended "their control over Souq Libya in Omdurman" and seized "weapons and equipment left behind by" the RSF as they fled.

Souq Libya, one of the largest and busiest in the Khartoum area, had for months been an RSF stronghold and a launchpad for attacks on northern and central Omdurman since the war with the army began on April 15, 2023.

While the army already controls much of Omdurman, the RSF still holds ground in the city's west, particularly in Ombada district.

Late Thursday, the military spokesman said that the army had "cleansed" Khartoum itself from "the last pockets" of the RSF.

Sudan's war began almost two years ago during a power struggle between the army and the RSF, a paramilitary force that was once its ally.

Khartoum has seen more than 3.5 million of its people flee since the war began, according to the United Nations. Millions more, unable or unwilling to leave, live among abandoned buildings, wrecked vehicles and what the army says are hidden mass graves.

The war has carved Sudan in two: the army holds sway in the east and north while the RSF controls most of Darfur in the west, and parts of the south.