Sudan's military has unleashed a massive attack on the powerful paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), against which it has been fighting a civil war. Before dawn yesterday, troops of the government struck and shelled RSF strong points in the capital, Khartoum, and Bahri, a northern town that lies just north of the capital, areas that had earlier fallen to the RSF.

Since the army and the RSF started a violent power struggle in April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in conflict, resulting in one of the worst humanitarian crises in history, according to the UN. Over 10 million people, or nearly a fifth of the population, have been displaced from their homes as a result of the fighting, which has claimed up to 150,000 lives. The military build-up occurred despite US-led efforts to mediate a cease-fire, an issue that will be discussed this week on the fringes of the UN General Assembly. The artillery and airstrikes, according to capital residents, began during the night and grew more intense at dawn.

According to several reports, the army crossed important bridges over the River Nile that divided the RSF-controlled areas of Omdurman from government-controlled areas. Although the RSF asserted that it had thwarted the attempts, reports of gunfire and smoke plumes emanated from central Khartoum. The paramilitaries have occupied almost the whole capital since the beginning of the conflict. The government appears to be making its first major attempt to reclaim some territory in months with Thursday's advances.

Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto head of Sudan, stated later at the UN General Assembly in New York that he favoured efforts to end the war, but only if they also ended the RSF's occupation of Sudanese territory. He accused states in the area of "providing funding and mercenaries for their own political and economic benefit, in flagrant violation of law and international will" and questioned why the international community had not intervened to help counter the group.

The UN has demanded "immediate" action to stop the fighting and safeguard civilians. It claims that since the beginning of September, it has recorded at least 78 civilian fatalities in the greater Khartoum area as a result of airstrikes and artillery shelling. Territories with dense populations have seen the majority of the worst and most violent fighting. Bombing civilian areas without cause has been accused by both sides of the other.

"Relentless hostilities across the country have brought misery to millions of civilians, triggering the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis," warned the United Nations on Wednesday. It was mentioned that children made up half of the 10 million people who had left their homes and that at least two million of them had sought safety in nearby nations.

Sudan was referred to as "the world's largest hunger crisis" as well. People are afraid that a widespread famine may occur because they are unable to cultivate any crops.

In the western part of Darfur, there have also been warnings of a potential genocide against non-Arabs. According to the health ministry's announcement on Wednesday, Cholera is raging across the nation and over 430 people have passed away from the treatable illness in the previous month. However, the conflict makes getting medical care to those affected areas extremely difficult.