The Sudanese army has told the BBC it has recaptured the airport in the capital Khartoum from the paramilitary RSF, marking its latest territorial gains in the brutal two-year civil war.
Mohamed Abdel Rahman Al-Bilawi, commander of Khartoum’s eastern operation, said the troops had completely secured it and might be able to clear the remaining RSF fighters at the end of the day.
The Army has been acting quickly since recapturing the presidential palace on Friday and seizing the state institutions adopted by the RSF.
The RSF has been controlling most of Khartoum since the war began in April 2023. Nationwide, thousands were killed and millions were forced to flee their homes.
An Army spokesman earlier told the BBC that troops had occupied the last RSF-managed bridge, Manshia Bridge, and the group’s military camp at Jebel Awliya’s fortress in southern Khartoum.
He said the army has now recaptured all the bridges on the Nile on the Nile, which connect the three cities that make up the larger Khartoum.
Residents reported this week that RSF fighters were retreating south, apparently towards Jebel Awliya, the only place they could still cross the area.
Videos posted on social media seem to celebrate the progress of the military after showing some in central Khartoum what many call a cruel RSF career.
Those who are reluctant or unable to leave have been reporting on RSF’s massive robbery, with RSF’s fighters taking over civilian houses.
Khartoum is one of what the United Nations calls the country’s near-famine areas, as markets are plundered and restrictions on both sides’ aid.
Rights groups also document sexual violence and other abuses.
Both the RSF and the Army were accused of shelling civilians indiscriminately.
Earlier this week, the Air Force bombed a market with witnesses saying dozens of civilians were killed.
After the military-led government seized control of the capital early in the war, it was forced to move to the Port of Sultan of the Red Sea.
The recapture of Khartoum was a great achievement of the army, which could have a strategic advantage in the war.
But the war is far from over.
RSF still owns almost all Darfur region in Western Sudan.
Both sides have been supported by foreign powers that have poured their weapons into the country, and international efforts to make peace have failed.
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