Sudan’s army has intensified its efforts against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), launching a major offensive targeting areas in the capital Khartoum and its northern region, Bahri, which it had lost at the onset of the civil war.
Dawn strikes on Thursday saw government forces shelling RSF bases in what appears to be the army’s most significant push to regain territory in months.
Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating conflict since April 2023, when the army and the RSF began their power struggle, resulting in what the UN describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The ongoing violence has led to the deaths of up to 150,000 people, and more than 10 million—around a fifth of the population—have been displaced.
The latest escalation in fighting comes despite ongoing U.S.-led ceasefire talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Residents in Khartoum reported that artillery and airstrikes, which began overnight, escalated at dawn.
Accounts from the area noted that the army crossed key bridges over the River Nile, previously separating government-held Omdurman from RSF-controlled areas.
Although the RSF claims to have repelled the army’s advance, witnesses reported clashes and smoke rising from central Khartoum. Since early in the war, the RSF has maintained control over much of the capital. This recent government offensive marks its first significant attempt in months to reclaim lost ground.
The UN has urgently called for immediate action to protect civilians and bring an end to the fighting. Since the start of September, at least 78 civilians have been killed by artillery shelling and airstrikes in the greater Khartoum area, according to UN reports.
Much of the conflict’s fiercest battles have unfolded in densely populated regions, with both sides accusing each other of indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas.
The UN also warned that Sudan is experiencing the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis, with half of the displaced population being children. An estimated two million people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, while the war has exacerbated what the UN now calls “the world’s largest hunger crisis,” with widespread famine looming as crop cultivation has been halted.
Amid the violence, there are growing concerns over potential genocide against non-Arabs in Darfur, and a cholera epidemic is sweeping through the country, claiming over 430 lives in the past month. Delivering aid and medical treatment to affected areas remains a formidable challenge due to the ongoing conflict.
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