Sudan's military says it has retaken Khartoum's Republican Palace, seat of country's government

Sudan's subject connected Friday retook the Republican Palace successful Khartoum, the past heavy guarded bastion of rival paramilitary forces successful the capital, aft astir 2 years of fighting.

The seizure of the Republican Palace, surrounded by authorities ministries, was a large symbolic triumph for Sudan's subject against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — though it apt doesn't mean the extremity of the warfare arsenic the RSF holds territory successful Sudan's occidental Darfur portion and elsewhere.

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Social media videos showed Sudanese soldiers wrong the palace, giving the day arsenic the 21st time of Ramadan, the beatified Muslim fasting month, which corresponds to Friday. A Sudanese subject serviceman wearing a captain’s epaulettes made the announcement successful the video and confirmed the troops were wrong the compound.

The palace appeared to beryllium successful ruins, with soldiers’ stepping connected breached tiles. Troops carrying battle rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers chanted: "God is the greatest!"

Khaled al-Aiser, Sudan’s accusation minister, said the subject had retaken the palace successful a station connected the societal level X.

An service worker walks successful beforehand of the Republican Palace successful Khartoum, Sudan, aft it was taken implicit by Sudan's service Friday, March 21, 2025.  (AP Photo)

"Today the emblem is raised, the palace is backmost and the travel continues until triumph is complete," helium wrote.

Later, funny residents wandered done the palace. Walls stood pockmarked by firearm rounds. Smears of humor led to dormant bodies, covered haphazardly with blankets.

Palace's autumn a symbolic and strategical moment

The autumn of the Republican Palace — a compound on the Nile River that was the spot of authorities earlier the warfare erupted and is immortalized connected Sudanese banknotes and postage stamps — marks different battlefield summation for Sudan’s military, which has made dependable advances successful caller months nether service main Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

It besides means that the rival RSF fighters, nether Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, person been mostly expelled from the capital, Khartoum. Sporadic gunfire could beryllium heard passim the superior Friday, though it wasn't wide if it progressive warring oregon was celebratory.

Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesperson for the Sudanese military, said its troops are holding the palace, surrounding ministry buildings and the Arab Market to the southbound of the complex.

Khartoum International Airport, lone immoderate 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the palace, has been held by the RSF since the commencement of the warfare successful April 2023.

Suleiman Sandal, a person associated with the RSF, acknowledged the subject took the palace and called it portion of "the ups and downs" of history.

The RSF aboriginal issued a connection claiming its forces "are inactive contiguous of the vicinity of the area, warring bravely." A drone onslaught connected the palace believed to person been launched by the RSF reportedly killed troops and journalists with Sudanese authorities television.

Late Thursday, the RSF claimed it seized power of the Sudanese metropolis of al-Maliha, a strategical godforsaken metropolis successful North Darfur adjacent the borders with Chad and Libya. Sudan’s subject has acknowledged warring astir al-Maliha, but has not said it mislaid the city.

Al-Maliha is astir 200 kilometers (125 miles) northbound of the metropolis of El Fasher, which remains held by the Sudanese subject contempt near-daily strikes by besieging RSF.

The caput of the U.N. children’s bureau has said that Sudan's struggle has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. UNICEF connected Friday separately decried the looting of nutrient assistance meant to spell to malnourished children astatine Al Bashir Hospital connected Khartoum's outskirts.

"Commercial supplies and humanitarian assistance person been blocked for much than 3 months owed to ongoing struggle on cardinal routes," UNICEF warned. "The effect is simply a terrible shortage of food, medicine and different essentials, with thousands of civilians trapped successful progressive fighting."

The warfare has killed much than 28,000 people, forced millions to fly their homes and near immoderate families eating writer successful a hopeless effort to past arsenic famine sweeps parts of the country. Other estimates suggest a acold higher decease toll.

The Republican Palace became the spot of powerfulness during the British colonization of Sudan. It besides saw immoderate of the archetypal flags of autarkic Sudan raised successful 1956. The analyzable had besides been the main bureau of Sudan’s president and different apical officials.

The Sudanese subject has agelong targeted the palace and its grounds, shelling and firing connected the compound.

Sudan has faced years of chaos and war

Sudan, a federation successful northeastern Africa, has been unstable since a fashionable uprising forced the removal of longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir successful 2019. A short-lived modulation to ideology was derailed erstwhile Burhan and Dagalo led a subject coup successful 2021.

The RSF and Sudan’s subject began warring each different successful 2023.

Since the commencement of the year, Burhan’s forces, including Sudan’s subject and allied militias, person precocious against the RSF. They retook a cardinal refinery northbound of Khartoum, pushed successful connected RSF positions astir Khartoum itself. The warring has led to an summation successful civilian casualties.

Al-Bashir faces charges astatine the International Criminal Court implicit carrying retired a genocidal run successful the aboriginal 2000s successful the occidental Darfur portion with the Janjaweed militia, the RSF precursor. Rights groups and the U.N. impeach the RSF and allied Arab militias of again attacking taste African groups successful this latest war.

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Since the warfare began, some the Sudanese subject and the RSF person faced allegations of quality rights abuses. Before U.S. President Joe Biden near office, the State Department declared the RSF are committing genocide.

The subject and the RSF person denied committing abuses.