Sudanese army surrounds Khartoum airport in battle for capital, military sources say

• The Sudanese service is encircling Khartoum airdrome arsenic it battles to oust its rival Rapid Support Forces from its last foothold successful Sudan's capital.
• The Sudanese service connected Wednesday said it had gained power of the RSF's past basal successful cardinal Sudan and past stronghold successful Khartoum State, the Tiba al-Hassanab campy southbound of the capital.
• Recent Sudanese service gains successful cardinal Sudan travel arsenic the RSF has consolidated its power successful the west, hardening battlelines and threatening to determination the state towards a de facto partition.

The Sudanese service is encircling Khartoum airport, 2 subject sources told Reuters connected Wednesday, arsenic it battles to oust its rival Rapid Support Forces from a past foothold successful the capital, though the warfare looks acold from over.

The service seized the statesmanlike palace successful downtown Khartoum aft warring connected Friday, an important symbolic beforehand aft 2 years of a struggle that is splitting the monolithic state into rival zones of control.

On Wednesday, the service said it had gained power of Tiba al-Hassanab campy southbound of the capital, which it described arsenic the RSF's past basal successful cardinal Sudan and past stronghold successful Khartoum State.

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The subject sources said the service was encircling the airport, which is located successful the metropolis center, and surrounding areas. Witnesses said the RSF had focused its troops successful confederate Khartoum, seemingly to unafraid their withdrawal from the metropolis via bridges to the neighboring metropolis of Omdurman.

Recent service gains successful cardinal Sudan, retaking districts of the superior and different territory, travel arsenic the RSF has consolidated its power successful the west, hardening conflict lines and threatening to determination the state towards a de facto partition.

The war, which erupted 2 years agone arsenic the state was attempting a antiauthoritarian transition, has caused what the U.N. calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with famine successful respective areas arsenic good arsenic outbreaks of disease.

A outer representation shows the statesmanlike palace, successful Khartoum, Sudan, connected March 21, 2025. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)

It has driven 12.5 cardinal radical from their homes, galore of them seeking refuge successful neighboring countries.

Eruption of warfare

The service and RSF had astatine 1 constituent been successful a fragile concern together, jointly staging a coup successful 2021 that derailed the modulation from the Islamist regularisation of Omar al-Bashir, a longtime autocrat who was ousted successful 2019.

They had besides fought connected the aforesaid broadside for years successful the occidental authorities of Darfur nether Bashir's government.

The RSF, nether Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, amended known arsenic Hemedti, developed from Darfur's janjaweed militias and Bashir developed the radical arsenic a counterweight to the army, led by vocation serviceman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

After they seized powerfulness unneurotic successful 2021, the 2 sides clashed implicit an internationally backed program aimed astatine launching a caller modulation with civilian parties that would necessitate them some to cede powers.

Major points of quality included a timetable for the RSF to integrate into the regular equipped forces, the concatenation of bid betwixt service and RSF leaders, and the question of civilian oversight.

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When warring broke out, Sudan's service had amended resources, including aerial power. However, the RSF was much profoundly embedded successful neighborhoods crossed Khartoum and was capable to clasp overmuch of the superior successful an initial, devastating burst of warfare.

The RSF besides made accelerated advances to summation power of its main stronghold of Darfur and implicit El Gezira state, southbound of Khartoum, a large farming area.

With the service present re-establishing its presumption successful the capital, it is making a caller propulsion to cement its power successful the halfway of Sudan.