Sudan’s military announced on Saturday that it had regained control of a strategic district in greater Khartoum as it intensified its offensive against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The army’s recapture of Kafouri, a wealthy district in Khartoum North (Bahri), marks a significant blow to the RSF, which had controlled the area since the war erupted in April 2023. Military spokesman Nabil Abdullah confirmed that the army, along with allied units, had “completed on Friday the clearing of Kafouri” and other areas in Sharq El Nil, located 15 kilometres to the east. He described the RSF as “remnants of the Daglo terrorist militias.”
In recent weeks, the military has made steady gains in Bahri, an RSF stronghold, pushing the paramilitary forces to the outskirts of the city. Kafouri had been a key base for RSF leadership, including the residence of Abdel Rahim Daglo, the brother and deputy of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The fall of Kafouri further weakens the RSF’s grip on the capital and signals the army’s continued push to reclaim full control of Khartoum North, home to about one million people. Greater Khartoum consists of Khartoum North, Omdurman, and the city centre.
On Thursday, a military source told AFP that the army was advancing toward central Khartoum, nearly two years after the RSF first seized control of the capital. Eyewitnesses in southern Khartoum reported hearing explosions and clashes on Saturday morning.
The latest offensive marks one of the army’s most significant military advances since the conflict broke out between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former ally, Daglo. The war has devastated Sudan, displacing over 12 million people and creating what the International Rescue Committee has called the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.”
