The Sudanese army said on Tuesday it had dislodged rival paramilitaries from their last positions in Omdurman, part of the Sudanese capital, securing all of Khartoum state nearly two months after recapturing the capital's centre.
"We affirm that Khartoum state is completely free of rebels," military spokesman Nabil Abdallah said in a statement, referring to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), locked in a brutal conflict with the regular army since April 2023.
In its biggest victory since the war began in April 2023, the army in March recaptured central Khartoum, pushing the RSF to retreat to two holdout positions: Salha, south of Omdurman, and Ombada to the west.
The army said it launched on Monday a "large-scale offensive" to push the RSF out of both, with explosions from the clashes heard across the city, an AFP correspondent reported.
The RSF did not immediately comment on the military's latest announcement, which would cement army control over central Sudan, pushing the paramilitaries back towards their stronghold in the vast western region of Darfur.
The war in Sudan, now in its third year, pits the military, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and created what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
It has also effectively split Africa's third-largest country in two, with the army holding the centre, north and east while the RSF controls nearly all of Darfur and, with its allies, parts of the south.
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Rebuilding governance
This announcement comes as both sides seek to install rival governments.
On Monday, Burhan named former UN official Kamil Idris as prime minister, in what analysts see as an attempt to present a functioning civilian-led administration amid the ongoing war.
The African Union and the Arab League welcomed the appointment, calling it "a step toward inclusive governance" and expressing hope the move would "restore constitutional order and democratic governance".
Burhan also appointed two women as members of the ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council and stripped the body of powers to oversee the cabinet.
The moves were aimed at showing progress and appealing to the African Union after Sudan's membership was suspended in 2021, said analyst Kholood Khair.
Burhan wants to "maintain power but share liability... because everything is now blamed on him", as he seeks to consolidate control as he was still reeling from attacks on his wartime capital, Port Sudan, Khair said.
In April, the RSF said it would form its own government in territory under its control, though analysts say it is unlikely to win international backing.
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'Lives at risk'
Since it began in April 2023, the war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 13 million and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.
It has also effectively carved Africa's third-largest country in two, with the army holding the centre, north and east while the RSF controls nearly all of the vast western region of Darfur and, with its allies, parts of the south.
After a major battlefield victory in March, when the army recaptured most of Khartoum, the RSF this month launched deep attacks into army-held territory.
Long-range drone strikes blamed on the paramilitaries have targeted key infrastructure in army-held northeastern Sudan, including Port Sudan and power stations supplying electricity to millions.
Relegated to their last major bases in Salha, south of Omdurman, and Ombada to the west, the RSF has launched attacks across Khartoum, including drone strikes on three power stations that knocked out electricity in the capital last week.
New dangers
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported the local water network around Khartoum and Omdurman had been forced out of service, risking the spread of cholera in the city as residents "will turn to different water sources".
Health ministry officials reported Tuesday 51 people have died from more than 2,300 cases reported in the past three weeks, 90 percent of them in Khartoum state.
MSF on Sunday said the electricity blackout had disrupted healthcare at the city's major hospitals, amid fears of heightened civilian suffering.
"The recurrent attacks on critical infrastructure place civilian lives at risk, worsen the humanitarian crisis, and undermine basic human rights," UN human rights expert Radhouane Nouicer warned on Monday.
Meanwhile, families coming back to Khartoum find a new danger in Sudan's battered capital: unexploded shells.
More than 100,000 people have returned since the army took back control of Khartoum, and most of central Sudan.
Sudan's National Mine Action Centre said more than 12,000 devices have been destroyed over the course of the war. Another 5,000 have been discovered since operations expanded into newly re-taken territory, director Major General Khaled Hamdan said.
(with newswires)
