Army captures Khartoum, ending months-long siege
Photo: Sudan's military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan center, is greeted by troops as he arrives at the Republican Palace, recently recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo)
After months of fighting block-by-block through Khartoum's sister cities and outlying neighborhoods, the army has wrested Sudan's destroyed capital region away from the Rapid Support Forces.
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In the end, the army invasion of Khartoum proved to be far more anticlimactic than expected. Long-running concerns that a protracted battle in Sudan’s decimated capital region would completely destroy what is left of the city did not pan out. Instead, invading army units moved swiftly through Khartoum as Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters disobeyed orders from high command, fleeing west across the Jebel Awlia Dam Bridge, the last Nile crossing still in their hands.
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Army soldiers seized the Presidential Palace on March 21. Additional units began pouring into Khartoum from the east and south over the next few days. By March 26, the army had captured the central bank and international airport.
Gunfire could be heard throughout the invasion, but there were few signs of recent heavy combat. The small number RSF fighters who did not escape were quickly killed or captured. Over the past several days, army soldiers have been securing key installations around the capital, including the Yarmuk military-industrial complex and Central Reserve Police headquarters.
Khartoum is now eerily quiet after months of explosions and gunfire inching closer and closer to the battered and hungry capital, a welcome relief to those Sudanese who never had the resources to escape in the early days of the war.
An invasion long-anticipated
The RSF took the Greater Khartoum Area in the early days of the war, minus a small number of army enclaves that were promptly placed under siege. Army generals began serious preparations to retake Khartoum well over a year ago, launching a mass recruitment drive in territory under its control and outfitting key units with heavy weaponry and new drones. By February 2024, a mass buildup of soldiers and pro-army militias north of the Greater Khartoum area was completed.
The first sledgehammer fell almost exactly one year ago, when the army launched a combined arms offensive in neighboring Omdurman that included thousands of fresh troops, heavy artillery, drones, and airstrikes. RSF forces in Omdurman were decimated in a matter of days. In September 2024 army units crossed into Bahri and fought block-by-block through that city through January 2025. Meanwhile, south and southeast of Khartoum, another army offensive was threatening to choke off Khartoum proper entirely.
The army steamrolled through the rest of Bahri (Khartoum North) in mid-February, bringing relief to army units in the Kober enclave that have been under siege since the beginning of the war. East Nile, a northeastern suburb of Khartoum, was overrun by the army throughout March. The below map provides a rough visualization of the army invasion the past several weeks, followed by some photos that have circulated on Sudanese social media.
The RSF maintains a foothold in southwestern Omdurman for now; but, besides that, the paramilitary force has now been driven out of the capital region entirely. This marks the latest defeat in central Sudan for the paramilitaries, who have lost the cities of Wad Madani, Sinja, El-Obied, and other large towns over the past few months. The RSF is now trying to frame the fall of Khartoum as their merely “repositioning” forces in a strategic manner.
In reality, the paramilitaries were outmanned and outgunned in Khartoum, hence the hasty flight of RSF fighters.
What does all this mean for Sudan’s besieged citizenry?
While the millions of Sudanese who called Khartoum home before the war hope to return, it is likely most will hold off for now. There is still a lack of public services in the Greater Khartoum area, and pockets of extreme hunger exist among the countless destroyed homes and wrecked markets. Khartoum is unable to sustain a large amount of human life at this time and likely won’t be able to for months. Early reports suggest at least a few thousand people have returned over the past few days though.
Just how damaged is the capital area? The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate provides a small window into the scale of the destruction. After nearly two years of war, journalists say that at least 90% of television, newspaper, and radio facilities have been completely destroyed. The war has led to the complete cessation of print newspapers in Khartoum for the first time in over 120 years.
The frontlines recently shifting in favor of the army likely won’t see much improvement in living conditions, although not being under the terror of RSF rule is being welcomed in Khartoum. Humanitarian aid is still being blocked in large parts of the country by both the army and RSF. And the Trump Administration’s attempted illegal closure of USAID —one of the largest providers of lifesaving food relief in Sudan— has resulted in the reported closure of over 60% of 1,400+ Sudanese-run emergency food kitchens, threatening to push more areas of the country into full-blown famine, including more pockets of Khartoum.
The bottom line is that the Sudanese people continue to bear the brunt of this war and the resulting famine. And they need your help.
Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. Our Sudanese partners are overwhelmed with needs as war and hunger spread. By joining Miles For Sudan or giving below, you will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.
Can’t participate? Make a donation or set up a small monthly gift instead:
$1,000 - Fully funds one classroom at Endure Primary School in Yida Refugee Camp for half a semester.
$500 - Delivers food to Darfuri genocide survivors who have fled to South Sudan.
$250 - Provides a daily breakfast to 10 children for an entire month in Adré refugee camp, where many Darfuri genocide survivors now live.
$100 - Supports the monthly work of a sexual assault counselor in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, Sudan.
$50 - Helps bring school supplies to students in Yida Refugee Camp.
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After months of block-by-block fighting in neighboring cities and outlying neighborhoods, the army has wrested Khartoum away from the Rapid Support Forces. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/army-captures-khartoum-ending-months-long-siege
In the end, the army invasion of Khartoum proved to be far more anticlimactic than expected. Rapid Support Forces fighters disobeyed orders and fled west across the Jebel Awlia Dam Bridge, the last Nile crossing still in their hands. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/army-captures-khartoum-ending-months-long-siege
Khartoum is now eerily quiet after months of explosions and gunfire inching closer and closer to the battered and hungry capital, a welcome relief to those Sudanese who never had the resources to escape in the early days of the war. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/army-captures-khartoum-ending-months-long-siege
The RSF maintains a foothold in southwestern Omdurman for now; but, besides that, the paramilitary force has now been driven out of the capital region entirely. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/army-captures-khartoum-ending-months-long-siege
Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. Will you join us? https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/army-captures-khartoum-ending-months-long-siege
