Sudanese army claims control of key Khartoum Bahri areas, nearing full control

International

31-01-2025, 14:20

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INA- SOURCES

The Sudanese army said on Thursday it had retaken key areas of Khartoum Bahri, a strategic city north of the capital, and was close to fully ousting the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Military sources told Sudan Tribune that troops had advanced into the Al-Azba district and the eastern part of Kafouri, one of the RSF’s last strongholds in the city. Heavy fighting, involving artillery and drones, continued in eastern districts of Khartoum Bahri until Thursday afternoon. The army also reported simultaneous attacks on the suburbs of Dardoq and Nabta, east of the city.

“The army controls most districts from the Khartoum refinery northwards to the Mak Nimer Bridge leading to Khartoum,” Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed al-Tijani Suleiman, a commander at the Shambat Paratroopers Camp, told Sudan Tribune. He added that only small pockets of RSF fighters remained in Kafouri and areas east of the city.

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The military has made rapid gains in central and southern Khartoum Bahri since announcing last Saturday that it had pushed the RSF from the Khartoum oil refinery, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Khartoum Bahri.

Military officers speaking to Sudan Tribune described the “Blue Towers” in Shambat as a particularly challenging sniper position due to their height, strategic location, and reinforced construction.

The fighting has caused widespread damage to infrastructure. Abdel Rahman Ahmed Abdel Rahman, the executive director of the Khartoum Bahri locality, told Sudan Tribune that the Khartoum Bahri water station, the police headquarters, and the Khartoum Bahri Teaching Hospital had been heavily damaged.

He said that some residents had begun returning to safer areas and that the state and federal governments were working to repair water and power infrastructure. Restoring the Khartoum Bahri water station, the largest in the state, with a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters per hour, was a top priority, he added.

Health officials have also begun assessing hospitals. Dr. Mohamed Faisal al-Mahjoub, director of the state’s central ambulance service, told Sudan Tribune that the Khartoum Bahri Teaching Hospital had sustained significant damage, particularly to its emergency department, but that intensive care units and the oxygen plant were still functional. He pledged to restore the hospital to service as quickly as possible.

According to the health ministry, the Khartoum Bahri Teaching Hospital is the third largest in the state. A Sudan Tribune correspondent observed that the International Hospital on al-Moussa Street appeared undamaged. The RSF had reportedly used the facility to treat wounded fighters. The al-Baraha Hospital in Shambat, however, was destroyed by fire.

SOURCE: Sudan tribune