Fri Mar 21 12:43:46 UTC 2025: ## Sudanese Army Reclaims Presidential Palace in Blow to RSF
**Khartoum, Sudan** – Sudan’s army has retaken the presidential palace in Khartoum, marking a significant symbolic victory in its ongoing conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The recapture, celebrated by the army and its supporters nationwide, represents a key development in the counteroffensive launched last September.
While the RSF maintains control of pockets in southern Khartoum, the army’s victory has significantly reduced RSF presence in the capital since the civil war erupted in April 2023. This comes just days after RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo urged his fighters to hold the palace.
Civilians in areas retaken by the army have largely welcomed the troops, though reports of human rights abuses by army-aligned militias persist. The RSF, meanwhile, stands accused of numerous atrocities, including the detention of at least 10,000 people in Khartoum (according to a UN report), widespread killings, and rapes.
The strategic shift raises concerns of a potential de facto partition of Sudan. The RSF controls a parallel government and significant portions of Darfur, having recently captured the strategic city of al-Maliha. The army, however, still holds el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, a crucial stronghold.
Experts warn of a potential “Libya scenario,” with a divided nation controlled by competing authorities and their affiliated armed groups. The ongoing refusal of both sides to engage in peace talks, coupled with continued military escalations and the influx of sophisticated weaponry, fuels fears of intensified conflict in western Sudan and a worsening humanitarian crisis. The celebration of the palace recapture was tragically cut short by a drone strike that killed three journalists. The conflict has already displaced millions and caused a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale.
First Piper 