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The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) dealt a significant blow to their paramilitary rivals on Friday, March 21, 2025, by reclaiming the presidential palace in Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The military’s advance marked a critical moment in a war that has raged for nearly two years, leaving thousands dead and the capital in ruins.
In footage widely circulated on social media, uniformed soldiers were seen celebrating their victory; firing their weapons into the air, chanting, and falling to their knees in prayer. According to military spokesperson Nabil Abdallah, the army not only regained control of the palace but also seized government ministry buildings in the heart of the capital. “Our forces have annihilated enemy fighters, destroyed their equipment, and captured a large cache of weapons,” Abdallah declared on state television.
The battle for Khartoum has been one of the bloodiest chapters in Sudan’s conflict, which erupted in April 2023 following a bitter power struggle between the SAF and the RSF. The war began after a fragile military-led transitional government collapsed, leading to an all-out confrontation between Sudan’s two most powerful military factions.
The RSF, originally formed from the notorious Janjaweed militias that terrorized Darfur in the early 2000s, quickly seized large portions of Khartoum and other strategic cities, forcing the national army to retreat. Over the past two years, the SAF has struggled to regain control, relying on aerial bombardments and sporadic ground offensives while ceding much of the west and south of the country to the RSF.
However, in recent weeks, the tide appears to have turned. The army has launched a sustained offensive, making steady gains in central Sudan. Friday’s recapture of the presidential palace, once the seat of power in Sudan, is the most significant success for the SAF since the war began.
The army’s takeover of the palace followed a series of intense clashes, with airstrikes and drone attacks pounding RSF positions across Khartoum in the days leading up to the assault. Eyewitnesses described hearing massive explosions near the Republican Palace on Thursday night, an indication that both sides were engaged in heavy combat before the army declared victory.
Sudan’s civil war has pushed the country to the brink of collapse, creating what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Millions have been displaced, entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, and famine looms as both warring sides disrupt supply chains and attack critical infrastructure.
The international community has made repeated efforts to mediate peace between the rival factions, but every ceasefire has been short-lived. Talks brokered by the United States, the African Union, and Saudi Arabia have failed to produce a lasting resolution, as both the army and the RSF remain locked in a bitter fight for dominance.
The RSF has been implicated in mass killings, sexual violence, and the use of child soldiers, while the SAF has been accused of indiscriminate airstrikes that have resulted in high civilian casualties.
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