Sudanese army and allies advance in Khartoum, claim gains against RSF
February 22, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan Shield Forces, a militia allied with the Sudanese army, said on Saturday that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had retreated from positions in Soba, east of the capital Khartoum, under attacks launched in conjunction with the army.
Sudan Shield Forces have been fighting alongside the army since their commander, Abu Agla Keikel, defected from the RSF in October 2024. This defection has allowed the army and its allies to recapture most of Al Jazirah state and advance into eastern Khartoum.
In a statement received by Sudan Tribune, Sudan Shield Forces said the army and its fighters were “engaged in fierce battles since morning around the Soba bridge and neighbourhoods east of the bridge, where the advanced frontline and one of the most important defences of the bridge were destroyed.”
The statement claimed RSF losses of 17 dead and others wounded, in addition to nine combat vehicles. Six of these vehicles were captured during the clashes, and drones destroyed three, it added.
Sudan Shield Forces said they had completed securing the Al-Lulua and Al-Samra neighbourhoods southeast of the Soba Bridge.
The army and Sudan Shield Forces are attempting to seize control of the Soba Bridge to advance to 60th Street, one of the RSF’s most important strongholds in Khartoum, the central market, and the capital’s southern neighbourhoods.
The statement said the RSF had moved to the Al-Siniya site, near the Soba Bridge, and partially blocked its lanes with concrete barriers. Military police were deployed to prevent the withdrawal of troops under continuous attack, it claimed. The armed group predicted the RSF would target the Soba Bridge for destruction to secure its forces if it had to withdraw from it.
The Soba Bridge connects Khartoum’s southern and eastern neighbourhoods with the rural areas of East Nile.
The army and its allies have regained control of most of Khartoum Bahri and East Nile, in parallel with slow progress in areas at the periphery of Omdurman. They are also trying to recover the central Khartoum area, where the presidential palace and state institutions.