Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, visited his headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, on Sunday, two days after forces recaptured the building from paramilitary fighters who had surrounded it since the war began in April 2023.
During his visit to the General Command building, located near the city centre and airport, al-Burhan expressed confidence in the army’s readiness. “Our forces are in their best condition,” he told army commanders. The recapture of the General Command marks a significant victory for the Sudanese army, which has also regained control of other strategic areas, including Omdurman nearly a year ago.
The army’s recapture of the headquarters is a pivotal moment in the ongoing conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since the war’s eruption, the RSF had encircled key army locations in the capital, including the Signal Corps and the General Command building.
On Friday, the army announced that it had broken the RSF’s siege of the Signal Corps in Khartoum North (Bahri) and had retaken the General Command headquarters. In the early stages of the conflict, the military had been forced to supply troops inside the headquarters via airdrops. Al-Burhan was trapped inside the building for four months before escaping in August 2023 and relocating to Port Sudan.
The war in Sudan has led to a massive humanitarian disaster. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and more than 12 million have been displaced, according to the United Nations. Famine has been declared in parts of Sudan, with the risk of its spread affecting millions more people.
Late last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that people in Sudan were resorting to eating grass and peanut shells to survive in certain areas.
