Sudanese Army Recaptures Presidential Palace in Central Khartoum

Watan-The Sudanese army took control on Friday morning of the Presidential Palace—also known as the “Republican Palace”—in central Khartoum, after intense battles with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). With this, the army has regained what is seen as the “symbol of power” in Sudan, and the most prominent site it had lost in the early days of the war that began on April 15, 2023.

In a statement broadcast on state television, Sudanese army spokesperson Nabil Abdullah confirmed the army’s control over the Republican Palace and several ministries in central Khartoum. He also announced the seizure of vehicles and equipment belonging to the RSF and emphasized that the army is “moving forward on all battlefronts until victory is complete and every inch of our country is cleansed.”

The Sudanese Armed Forces also released a statement following the palace takeover, saying: “We have destroyed RSF personnel and equipment.”

Reuters quoted military sources saying the army is now conducting searches in areas surrounding the palace for remaining RSF members. According to the same sources, RSF fighters have fled to nearby buildings and shops in Khartoum’s central Arab Market and are now stationed inside those buildings as well as in the Al-Mogran area in western central Khartoum.

Widely circulated videos showed Sudanese soldiers patrolling the Republican Palace, celebrating their recapture of the site.

In the first official response to the development, Sudanese Minister of Culture and Information Khalid Al-Ayeser stated, “Today, the flag was raised, and we have regained the Republican Palace. We are moving forward until complete victory is achieved.” Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim also remarked that the reclaiming of the palace marked the end of the political ambitions of the rebel factions and those backing them.

Earlier, Sudanese army sources told several news agencies that they were very close to retaking the palace. The intensity of the explosions heard in the capital highlighted the ferocity of the battles. Meanwhile, the RSF did not admit any defeat and claimed via Telegram that its forces were advancing toward the General Command headquarters, which the army had recently broken the siege around. Eyewitnesses told Reuters that RSF forces were attacking from the south. A Sudanese military source told AFP that the army had destroyed a convoy of 30 RSF vehicles trying to withdraw southward.

The Republican Palace was one of the main sites seized by the RSF at the start of the war, along with the headquarters of the Sudan Radio and Television Corporation in Omdurman, the western part of the capital. The army had already regained control of that broadcasting compound on March 12, 2024.

On September 26 of last year, the Sudanese army launched a multi-front military operation across the capital’s three cities—Khartoum, Bahri, and Omdurman—targeting RSF-held areas. The army succeeded in retaking several sites. In recent days, the fiercest battles have centered in downtown Khartoum, where the Republican Palace is located. Taking part in this battle are the Armored Corps, considered the most powerful unit in the Sudanese army. The RSF has failed to overrun its base in the Al-Shajara military zone in southern Khartoum since the war began. This elite unit pushed through downtown neighborhoods and linked up with General Command forces last Tuesday.

Military analyst Hossam al-Din Dhu al-Nun previously stated that the battle for central Khartoum and the palace is not merely military but deeply political. The palace holds immense symbolic and emotional value for the Sudanese people. Regaining it from the RSF is, in his words, “a declaration of the defeat of the regional colonialist project, signaling its descent into a state of paralysis.”