RSF retreats from Khartoum

The head of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has acknowledged the paramilitary has retreated from the capital Khartoum as it warned the fighting against the Sudanese army was not over, reports Al Jazeera. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, on Sunday conceded in an audio message on the Telegram app that his forces had left the capital last week as the army consolidated its gains. However, he pledged to return to Khartoum ‘stronger, more powerful and victorious’. Hemedti’s comments came as the Sudanese army continued to consolidate its gains, taking control on Saturday of a major market in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, which had previously been used by the RSF to launch attacks. The army already controlled most of Omdurman, home to two large military bases. It appears intent on securing the entire capital area, which is made up of the three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North, divided by branches of the River Nile. Meanwhile, Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Saturday also pledged not to back down, after a decisive blitz over the past few weeks in which the army reclaimed the Presidential palace, the war-damaged airport and other key sites in the city centre. The two-year civil war is the result of a power struggle between the army and the RSF before a planned transition to civilian rule.

Full Al Jazeera report