Army claims control of Souq Libya, a pivotal commercial hub in Omdurman, solidifying gains in Khartoum’s twin city.
The Sudanese army has said it seized control of a key market in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, building on a series of recent successes in its offensive against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The announcement on Saturday comes days after it also took control of most parts of the capital in a potentially pivotal victory in the devastating two-year war that has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The army said in a statement that its forces were now in control of the market in western Omdurman, Souq Libya, having seized weapons and equipment left behind by the RSF when they fled. Souq Libya is one of the largest and most important commercial hubs in Sudan.
The army already controlled most of Omdurman, home to two big military bases. It appears intent on securing control over the entire capital area, which is made up of the three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, divided by branches of the River Nile. The RSF has not commented on the army’s advance in Omdurman, where the paramilitary forces still hold some territory.
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The army senses that the recapture of Khartoum, which had been under RSF control for most of the war, will mark a shift in battlefield momentum that could spread to other areas.
Still, the conflict seems far from over as the warring sides remain in control of large swaths of land each while remaining engaged in fierce clashes.
Fighting is continuing in the huge Darfur region to the west of Sudan, the Kordofan region in central and southern parts of the country, and Gezira state, a strategic agricultural hub located south of the capital.
Neither side has managed to strike a knockout blow to the other, and there is no sign of a political settlement or peace process in the near future, while each side continues to enjoy the support of its regional backers.
In the meantime, the Sudanese army has accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF, a charge found credible by UN experts and US lawmakers. On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said it would hear a case filed by Sudan demanding emergency measures against the UAE for violating obligations under the Genocide Convention by giving direct support to the RSF and implicating it in genocidal acts allegedly perpetrated by the paramilitary group against the Masalit people of Darfur.
The Gulf state has repeatedly denied the accusations, calling the ICJ case “nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt“.
In January, the United States accused the RSF of committing genocide in Darfur.
The war in Sudan erupted amid a power struggle between the army and RSF before a planned transition to civilian rule. It uprooted more than 12 million Sudanese from their homes, and left about half of the 50 million population suffering acute hunger.
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Overall deaths are hard to estimate, but a study published last year said the toll may have reached 61,000 in Khartoum state alone in the first 14 months of the conflict.
In another development, Al Jazeera Arabic reports that the army evacuated hundreds of freed civilian and military prisoners held by the RSF in several detention centres in Jebel Awliya, south of Khartoum, to the city of Al-Qatana in White Nile State.
Sudanese army commander Major General Mohamed Saleh Abu Halima said that the RSF detained approximately 4,700 prisoners under appalling conditions, where they suffered from malnutrition and a lack of healthcare, leading to the deaths of several of them in detention.