Sudan army retakes Khartoum after nearly two years of fighting, says general

26 March 2025, 16:48 | Updated: 26 March 2025, 21:32

Sudan's army chief has declared Khartoum is "free" and that his forces have retaken the capital after nearly two years of fighting.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been battling to oust the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from a last foothold in the city, although the war looks far from over.

In videos on social media, General Abdel Fattah al Burhan is seen walking with troops through the presidential palace, which was seized last week in an important symbolic advance.

"Khartoum is now free. It's over. Khartoum is free. Free. Free," he can be heard telling soldiers.

The Sudanese Armed Forces said they had also seized a key RSF base and recaptured the capital's airport after consolidating gains in Khartoum in recent days.

The general kissed the ground and raised his fist after landing at the airport in a helicopter on Wednesday.

The army also released drone footage of people walking across a dam, which it claimed showed RSF forces retreating across the Nile.

The war began in April 2023 as the country was attempting a democratic transition and has split the nation into rival zones of control.

It's estimated at least 28,000 people have been killed during the conflict, though the number is likely far higher.

The fighting has also caused what the UN calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

While the SAF has made recent gains in central Sudan, the RSF remains deeply embedded in western Sudan.

When fighting broke out, Sudan's army had better resources, including air power, but the RSF was more deeply embedded in Khartoum and was able to hold much of the capital in an initial, devastating burst of warfare.

Famine and disease is blighting several areas of Sudan and UN data suggests 12.8 million people have been displaced, more than a fifth of the population.

Five million of those displaced are children, according to UNICEF.

However, the army's control of the airport in Khartoum could now allow aid groups to fly in more supplies.

Read more:
Eyewitness: Waiting and praying for victory after two years of war
Sky News goes inside liberated district in war-torn capital
Analysis: Sudan's capital left ravaged and ruined

The army and RSF had at one point been in a fragile partnership, jointly staging a coup in 2021 and also fought on the same side for years in the western state of Darfur.

But the groups ended up turning against each other in a struggle for power.