Sudan army retakes central bank after palace recapture

Sudan’s military said Saturday it seized several key buildings in central Khartoum, including the central bank, from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, following its recapture of the presidential palace.

“Our forces achieved further success last night, eliminating hundreds of militia members who tried to escape through pockets in central Khartoum,” army spokesman Nabil Abdallah said in a statement to AFP, listing the buildings recaptured, including the central bank.

The army and allied armed groups retook the presidential palace on Friday from the RSF, which retaliated with a drone strike that killed three journalists and several army personnel.

Army sources said Friday RSF fighters had fled into buildings in Al-Mogran, an area just west of the palace housing banks and business headquarters.

The paramilitary forces had posted snipers in the district’s high-rises, which overlook both Omdurman across the Nile River and the ministries of central Khartoum.

The battle for Khartoum’s government and financial district could solidify the military’s hold on the capital, providing a significant advantage in the country’s devastating two-year war.

Since April 2023, the military led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has fought the RSF, headed by Burhan’s former deputy commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted more than 12 million people and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.

It has also split the country in two, with the army holding the east and north while the RSF controls nearly all of the western region of Darfur and parts of the south.