Khartoum Under Siege: Sudanese Army Unleashes Fierce Counterattack to Reclaim Capital

Military sources told Al Jazeera that the Sudanese army has launched a large-scale offensive in the capital Khartoum to retake land controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Indian troops on Thursday carried out airstrikes on Rapid Security Forces positions in the capital Khartoum and in the north, the largest attack in months.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reported from Khartoum that government forces had taken control of three major bridges, including two connecting the city of Omdurman to the capital.

Morgan said his forces “had advanced as far as the presidential palace, where heavy fighting was also reported.”

Sources said the Sudanese army attacked several military bases of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese air force conducted multiple flights over Khartoum.

According to Mohamed Ibrahim, spokesman for the Khartoum state health ministry, the Rapid Support Forces shelled residential areas in Kalari Province, north of Omdurman, on Thursday morning, killing at least four people and injuring 14 others.

He said the injured had been taken to al-No Hospital.

Although the army recaptured parts of Omdurman earlier this year, relying mainly on artillery fire and air strikes, it was unable to dislodge the more effective Rapid Support Forces ground troops based in Khartoum.

Military sources said the attack had been “months in the making,” and Morgan said it came amid heavy aerial gunfire and the roar of fighter jets.

Sudan descended into conflict in April 2023 amid long-standing tensions between Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo Relations have erupted and the conflict has so far displaced more than 10 million people. According to the United Nations, there are about 8.1 million people in Sudan and about 2 million have been forced to flee the country.

“You can hear heavy artillery fire continuing, so it looks like troops are still fighting the rapid support force from multiple positions,” Morgan reported.

Rapid Support Forces shelled in Sudan: at least 30 killed

In an area controlled by the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum, a resident told Al Jazeera that he heard “various heavy artillery” coming from all directions as early as dawn.

“We sit with our neighbors and look forward to the coming events,” the resident said, adding that people hoped the army would retake the city because “people have had enough of the militias.”

Al Jazeera reporter Morgan said late on Thursday that the Rapid Support Forces had withdrawn some troops from Omdurman and reinforced troops in Khartoum through the Jebel Aulia Bridge.

“In Khartoum, dozens of vehicles were seen crossing a bridge after the army launched an offensive against the Rapid Support Forces. This could give the force the upper hand,” Morgan reported.

After months of siege, the Rapid Support Forces launched a major offensive in El Fasher last weekend. El Fasher is the only one of the five state capitals in Darfur that has not yet fallen into the hands of the Rapid Support Forces.

The bloody civil war has created a severe humanitarian crisis, but diplomatic efforts by the United States and other countries have struggled, with the military refusing to participate in talks in Switzerland last month.

Morgan said the Indian army was trying to “exhaust the strength and capabilities” of the Rapid Security Forces in order to “minimize” their presence in the capital.

She added, “Sources say the time is right and the Rapid Support Forces are busy on other fronts in North Darfur and in the southern and central parts of the country.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about an “escalation” in the conflict when he met Burhan on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

What is the situation with the civil war in Sudan?

Guterres was “deeply concerned about the escalation of the conflict in Sudan, which continues to have a devastating impact on Sudanese civilians and threatens to spread to the region,” according to the UN meeting minutes.

The military operation came ahead of Burhan’s scheduled address to a United Nations meeting, after the army lost control of much of the capital at the start of the conflict.

A U.N.-backed assessment warns that Sudan could experience mass famine the likes of which the world has not seen in decades.

According to statistics from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 18,800 people have been killed and at least 33,000 injured since the conflict broke out in April 2023.

Who will protect civilians in war-torn Sudan?