The Sudanese Army has announced it has retaken the presidential palace in Khartoum. But behind this advance lies a devastating war, ongoing since 2023, between two former allies turned enemies. Here's an explanation.
The term "two former allies" refers to the roles played by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Army) and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti (RSF), in several major events of the post-Bashir transition. In 2019, after the fall of Omar al-Bashir, Burhan and Hemedti formed the Transitional Military Council (TMC) together. Hemedti was the vice president, and al-Burhan the president. They thus had a de facto military alliance in managing power after Bashir.
In 2021, they joined forces to overthrow the civilian government of Abdallah Hamdok during the October 2021 coup. This joint action positioned them as partners in restoring military power.
It was only at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 that growing tensions publicly emerged regarding the reform of the security sector, particularly concerning the integration of the RSF into the regular Army — leading to the outbreak of conflict in April 2023.
Sudan then plunged violently into civil war. The conflict erupted between al-Burhan's Army and Hemedti's Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Both were previously powerful figures in the military regime, but their interests soon clashed.
The origin of the conflict? A power struggle. Officially, it was a disagreement over integrating the RSF into the Army, but in reality, it was a large-scale power struggle that ignited the country.
The RSF quickly gained the upper hand in Khartoum and the west of the country. The Army maintained control over the east, parts of the center and the borders. Today, Sudan is divided into zones of influence, administered separately, and the prospect of the country splitting has never seemed more real.
The presidential palace in Khartoum, a symbol of power, had been under RSF control since the beginning of the conflict. The Army's announcement of its recapture on Friday, March 21, 2025, is therefore a crucial moment, even as fighting continues. Military sources claim that several ministries have also been retaken and that the paramilitaries have retreated several hundred meters.
Shortly after this operation, a drone strike reportedly targeted the palace, according to another military source. It is believed to have been launched by the RSF.
In a video released by the armed forces, soldiers celebrate their return to a ruined building, with shattered windows and bullet-riddled walls. A powerful image, but one that does not hide the reality on the ground: the RSF still maintains a strong presence in the capital.
On the humanitarian front, the situation is dire. Twelve million people have been forced to flee their homes, entire regions are lacking food and diseases are spreading rapidly. The International Rescue Committee describes it as "the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded."
Finally, on Friday, a drone strike killed three journalists who were at the palace. Yet another tragedy in a country where information is scarce, and those who try to report often pay a high price.
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