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On Friday, 21 March 2025, the Sudanese army under the command of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum. This was reported by international news agencies Reuters and Associated Press, citing military sources. This step was an important success for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the civil war that has been going on for almost two years against the paramilitary Rapid Reaction Force (RSF).
According to Reuters, after the seizure of the palace, the military launched an operation to comb the surrounding area, looking for RSF fighters, who are the army’s main opponent in this conflict. RSF officials have not yet commented on the loss of control over the palace. An army spokesman told AFP: “Our forces have completely destroyed the enemy’s fighters and equipment, and captured a large number of vehicles and weapons.” He stressed that the army intends to continue the offensive to “clear the country of the militia and its supporters”.
The presidential palace, located on the banks of the Nile, has symbolic significance as the former seat of the Sudanese government before the war. The RSF seized it, along with most of Khartoum, in April 2023, in the early stages of the conflict, forcing the army and its associated government to relocate to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast. The RSF then began to establish parallel governance structures in the areas under their control, further dividing the country.
The conflict between the SAF, led by al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”), erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle following the 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled the country for nearly 30 years. The military, which came to power after the coup, promised to hand over control to a civilian government, but instead the country plunged into the chaos of a war that claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions of people to flee their homes.
The seizure of the presidential palace was part of a broader army offensive launched in recent months that has allowed the SAF to regain control of key areas of Khartoum. Despite this success, the war is far from over: The RSF retains strong positions in the western region of Darfur, indicating a continuing risk of Sudan’s actual disintegration. International observers note that without a political settlement, the conflict may drag on, worsening the humanitarian crisis in the country.
