Sudanese police seize arms cache in Omdurman, authorities tighten curfew

June 27, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese police have seized automatic rifles and heavier weapons in a raid on a Khartoum suburb formerly held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as state authorities on Friday announced a sweeping crackdown on crime, including a motorcycle ban and a tighter curfew.

The Khartoum State Security Committee, led by Governor Ahmed Osman Hamza, said the measures were necessary to combat security breaches. The committee banned all public and private parties and ordered strict adherence to an 11 p.m. curfew on main roads and in markets.

A new joint mobile force will also be established to patrol the Khartoum and Jebel Aulia localities, the committee stated in a press release.

In a raid on the Dar es Salam suburb west of Omdurman, police and joint security forces seized 12 Kalashnikov rifles, a Gornov heavy machine gun, an RPG launcher, and a sniper rifle, a police press office statement said. The weapons were transferred to military intelligence.

The operation, which cordoned off several blocks of the suburb, also led to the arrest of suspected RSF collaborators and habitual criminals, police said. Eleven motorcycles and various looted goods, including furniture and electronics, were also recovered.

The area was a former stronghold of the paramilitary RSF, which has been in a state of conflict with the Sudanese army. The army recently established control over the neighbourhood.

“These security and crime prevention campaigns will continue… to establish the authority of the state and the rule of law,” said acting Khartoum State Police Director, Major General Abdel Karim Hamdo Mohamed Khair.