Sudan army says retakes key district in Khartoum North

By AFP - Feb 08,2025 - Last updated at Feb 08,2025

People displaced by the ongoing war in Sudan return to Wad Madani in the Jazira state, on February 6, 2025, after the city was retaken by the Sudanese army from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries (AFP photo)

PORT SUDAN, Sudan — Sudan's military said Saturday that it had regained control of a key district in greater Khartoum as it presses its advance against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The district of Kafouri in Khartoum North, or Bahri, had been under RSF control since war between the army and the paramilitaries began in April 2023.

In a statement, military spokesman Nabil Abdullah said that army forces, alongside allied units, had "completed on Friday the clearing of" Kafouri and other areas in Sharq El Nil, 15 kilometres to the east, of what he described as "remnants of the Daglo terrorist militias".

The army has in recent weeks surged through Bahri, an RSF stronghold since the start of the war -- pushing the paramilitaries to the outskirts.

The Kafouri district, one of Khartoum's wealthiest neighbourhoods, had served as a key base for RSF leaders.

Among the properties in the area was the residence of Abdel Rahim Daglo, the brother of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and his deputy in the paramilitary group.

The recapture of Kafouri further weakens the RSF's hold in the capital and signals the army's continued advance to retake full control of Khartoum North, which is home to one million people.

Khartoum North, Omdurman across the Nile River, and the city centre to the south make up greater Khartoum.

On Thursday, a military source told AFP that the army was advancing towards the centre of Khartoum, nearly two years after the city fell to the RSF at the start of the war.

Eyewitnesses in southern Khartoum reported hearing explosions and clashes coming from central Khartoum Saturday morning.

The developments mark one of the army's most significant offensives since the war broke out between army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his erstwhile ally Daglo's RSF, which quickly seized much of Khartoum and other strategic areas.

The conflict has devastated the country, displacing more than 12 million and plunging Sudan into the "biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded" according to the International Rescue Committee.