The Sudanese army has retaken the city of Al-Muhayriba in Al-Jazirah state, a field source told DNE Africa. Source also indicated that a senior Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia commander was killed in a drone strike north of Al-Jazirah.
The source stated the army faced fierce resistance from the RSF before forcing them to flee towards Kameleen, north of Al-Jazirah. The army has reportedly launched new operations to retake Abu Guta in Al-Jazirah and advance towards Jabal Awliya, south of Khartoum.
A Sudanese military source confirmed that an army drone strike killed a senior RSF commander north of Al-Jazirah. RSF leader Omar Jibril announced the death of Major General Abdullah Hussein, the RSF commander for Al-Jazirah state. The RSF has recently suffered military setbacks in Khartoum Bahri, Omdurman, and Al-Jazirah state.
On Saturday, 68 civilians were killed and dozens injured in RSF artillery shelling of the Sabreen market in Omdurman, according to medical sources at Al-Naw Hospital, as reported by Al-Hurra.
Since mid-April 2023, the conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF has resulted in over 20,000 deaths and displaced approximately 14 million people, according to UN and local authorities. Other estimates suggest the actual death toll is significantly higher.
The recent escalation in Khartoum follows months of RSF encirclement of Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) at an armoured corps base southwest of the capital. The Sudanese army broke the siege on 24 January. Now, with the siege broken, RSF lines appear to be collapsing, potentially leading to a full RSF withdrawal from the city. Cracks within the RSF emerged as early as December, with reports of their withdrawal from several neighbourhoods in Omdurman.
Meanwhile, following an offensive in central Sudan weeks ago, the Sudanese army has made substantial gains, effectively reclaiming Al-Jazirah state. The SAF also announced on Monday that it had taken control of Al-Muhayriba.
Control of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital and former industrial and economic hub, could be crucial for the SAF. The RSF has held most of Khartoum since the conflict began. The battle for the capital started in April 2023 when the RSF seized the Khartoum International Airport, the presidential palace, and several military bases within the city. Fighting has since spread to at least 14 of Sudan’s 18 states.
The RSF, a militia that previously fought alongside the Sudanese army under President Omar al-Bashir, is estimated to have over 100,000 fighters. In 2015, the RSF was granted “regular force” status by the Sudanese parliament under al-Bashir. In 2019, the RSF assisted in the military coup that ousted al-Bashir. In October 2021, they participated in another coup that sparked pro-democracy demonstrations.
The SAF and pro-democracy groups have long demanded the RSF’s integration into the regular Sudanese army , a point of contention leading up to the conflict. Negotiations on this issue were scheduled for 1 April 2023, just before the fighting erupted.
In early January, the US State Department declared that RSF atrocities in Darfur amounted to genocide and imposed sanctions on RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).
In November, a London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine report estimated 61,000 deaths in Khartoum state, with approximately 40% directly resulting from violence. In May, US Special Envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello said the nationwide death toll could reach 150,000. The conflict has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with over 11.5 million internally displaced and over 3.3 million fleeing the country, according to a UN report. In 2024, over half of Sudan’s population faced catastrophic hunger.
