Fri Mar 21 07:00:19 UTC 2025: ## Sudanese Army Reclaims Republican Palace in Khartoum
**Khartoum, Sudan (March 21, 2025)** – Sudan’s military announced Friday the recapture of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, marking a significant victory in their ongoing conflict with the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Social media videos showed soldiers inside the compound, which served as the seat of government before the war began in April 2023. The palace, a landmark featured on Sudanese banknotes and stamps, appeared partially destroyed.
The military’s claim, made by a captain in a video circulating online, represents a major blow to the RSF, led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. While the RSF has not yet commented on the loss of the Republican Palace, the fighting is expected to continue. The RSF earlier claimed to have captured the strategic city of al-Maliha in North Darfur.
The conflict, which has lasted nearly two years, has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis. The United Nations Children’s agency has declared it the world’s largest, with over 28,000 deaths and millions displaced. Reports of widespread famine and families resorting to eating grass to survive are widespread. Some estimates place the death toll far higher.
The war began after a military coup in 2021, derailing a short-lived transition to democracy following the 2019 ouster of longtime President Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir himself faces charges at the International Criminal Court for genocide. Both the Sudanese military and the RSF have been accused of widespread human rights abuses, with the US State Department declaring the RSF’s actions genocidal before the end of President Biden’s term. Both sides deny these allegations. The fighting has intensified in recent months, with the Sudanese military making steady gains, including the recapture of a key refinery north of Khartoum.
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