Is Sudan’s army regaining ground lost in the civil war?

The warfare successful Sudan is entering a caller signifier arsenic the Sudanese service and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) combat implicit the capital, Khartoum, and the past contested authorities successful the sprawling occidental portion of Darfur.

The RSF has controlled astir of Khartoum ever since the warfare erupted successful April 2023.

Here’s what we cognize astir the concern today:

What was beingness successful Khartoum similar nether the RSF?

The equipped group, headed by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, has looted and confiscated homes and warehouses crossed the capital.

Whoever could fly Khartoum, has, but galore others had to enactment nether the mercy of the RSF, which has subjected women to intersexual unit and randomly rounded up and detained men for days oregon months.

Those who lived nether RSF regularisation accidental the paramilitary often killed families for refusing to manus implicit their daughters oregon mothers, arsenic good arsenic their homes and belongings.

Has the service retaken Khartoum?

On September 26, the army, which has besides been criticised for quality rights abuses and nonaccomplishment to support civilians from the RSF, launched a sweeping violative to retake the city.

As warplanes and troops descended connected Khartoum, the army yet recaptured immoderate territory successful the capital, according to section sources and reporters connected the ground.

The service has reportedly captured 3 bridges, including Halfaya, which allowed it to break an RSF siege connected its subject facilities successful Kadroo, a adjacent neighbourhood.

Sudanese fighters from the Rapid Support Forces unafraid an country successful East Nile province, Sudan, connected June 22, 2019 [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

How are radical reacting to the army’s advance?

Most radical are welcoming the service arsenic liberators, relieved to person a semblance of stableness instrumentality to their neighbourhoods.

Yet contempt the jubilation, the service is reportedly committing summary executions arsenic it retakes territory – targeting radical it perceives arsenic affiliated with the RSF, according to analysts, the United Nations and section monitors.

“These [executions] are decidedly verified,” according to Hamid Khalafallah, a Sudan adept and PhD campaigner astatine the University of Manchester.

Al Jazeera sent written questions to Sudanese Armed Forces spokesperson Nabil Abdullah asking him to remark connected the accusations.

No effect had been received by clip of publication.

Can the service retake each of Khartoum?

This whitethorn beryllium its champion shot, but the conflict is acold from over.

The service is trying to instrumentality the superior successful hopes of securing leverage for aboriginal bid talks, Suliman Baldo, enforcement manager of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker think-tank, said.

“[A situation] wherever the service controls Khartoum would boost its morale and it whitethorn person them judge that they made capable subject advancement to spell towards negotiations,” helium told Al Jazeera.

However, Khalafallah stressed, the service is inactive acold from controlling the full city, contempt its caller advances.

“It is not wide however acold the service is capable to beforehand but they are putting up a large fight,” helium said.

Plumes of fume emergence during clashes betwixt the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the service successful Khartoum, Sudan, connected September 26, 2024 [Stringer/Reuters]

What astir Darfur?

The RSF is besides warring the service and its allied equipped groups successful el-Fasher, the superior of North Darfur.

While the paramilitary controls 4 retired of 5 Darfur states – East, West, Central and South – it has struggled to conquer North Darfur, which has enactment up fierce resistance.

As warring intensifies, the UN estimates that immoderate 700,000 internally displaced radical are astatine terrible hazard of being harmed successful North Darfur, either from equipped attacks oregon famine.

The RSF has maintained a five-month siege connected el-Fasher, which has wrought devastating suffering connected civilians, according to assistance groups.

The assistance groups added that astir 2.8 cardinal radical unrecorded successful and astir el-Fasher, but person nary means to escape.

What’s more, they noted that boys were joining equipped groups to gain a meagre salary, portion families were marrying disconnected young girls to person less mouths to feed.

An internally displaced pistillate carries assistance successful sacks astatine a campy successful Gadarif connected May 12, 2024 [AFP]

What’s next?

The conflict for Khartoum whitethorn find the absorption of the warfare successful Sudan, according to experts.

Baldo said helium believes the service is trying to recapture Khartoum, arsenic good arsenic different large cities successful northbound and cardinal Sudan truthful it tin past displacement the absorption of the struggle to Darfur.

That’s wherever the RSF enjoys enactment from its “Arab” tribal basal – a sanction that refers to pastoralist communities arsenic opposed to sedentary farming communities that are often referred to arsenic “non-Arabs”.

Baldo added that the service would past effort to destablise its foe.

“I deliberation the service whitethorn propulsion for infighting [within the RSF] successful Darfur,” helium told Al Jazeera.