Khartoum clashes persist after army breaks HQ siege
January 25, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese army has gained significant ground against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, breaking a 21-month siege on its headquarters and delivering vital supplies, the military said on Saturday.
Army units reached the General Command headquarters after navigating unpaved roads west of Khartoum Bahri, a northern capital district, an officer inside the headquarters told Sudan Tribune. The route taken stretched from the Halfaya Bridge to the Khartoum Bahri railway station and then across the Blue Nile Bridge to the headquarters.
The army’s advance has opened up a new front in the conflict, the officer said, adding that the General Command would now become an “active combat axis” alongside other key positions in the capital.
While the army has secured the area around the headquarters, it is still battling RSF units in parts of Khartoum Bahri, army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah said in a statement.
“The army does not claim to have cleared all of Khartoum, but it has made great strides and accomplished a step on a long journey to extend control over all of Khartoum and all states,” Abdallah said.
Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohamed Osman al-Hussein said the defeat of the RSF was “achievable and soon.” He hailed the combined efforts of army units from Omdurman and Khartoum Bahri in reaching the headquarters as the “beginning of a new history.”
The neighbourhoods of Khartoum Bahri along the army’s route appeared largely deserted and looted, with many homes damaged, according to witnesses.
The impact of the siege and heavy fighting was evident inside the General Command headquarters. Several buildings were damaged or destroyed, and water and electricity supplies, cut since the conflict began in April 2023, had yet to be restored, soldiers said.
One soldier described how the RSF had heavily shelled the headquarters in the early days of the fighting, causing numerous deaths. Several attempts by RSF units to storm the compound were repelled, an army officer said, pointing to destroyed RSF vehicles.
The RSF had amassed significant forces, initially deploying more than 6,000 vehicles, said Brigadier General Omer Bashir Al-Nour, an officer at the headquarters, but added that the defending troops had thwarted the attacks.