Sudan's military announced on Friday that it had regained control of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, which was the last stronghold of rival paramilitary forces in the capital. This comes after nearly two years of fighting.

Videos shared on social media showed soldiers inside the palace, stating that the date was the 21st day of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, which fell on Friday. In one of the videos, a Sudanese military officer, wearing a captain’s epaulettes, confirmed that the troops had entered the palace. The palace looked partially ruined, with soldiers stepping on shattered tiles that crunched beneath their boots. Armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, they marched forward, chanting, "God is the greatest!"

In a post on social media platform X, Sudan's information minister, Khaled al-Aiser, claimed that the palace had been retaken by the troops. "Today the flag is raised, the palace is back and the journey continues until victory is complete," he stated in his letter. Sudan’s military has gained control of the Republican Palace, a government compound along the Nile River that was once the seat of power before the war began. This palace, featured on Sudanese banknotes and postage stamps, is an important symbol. The military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, has been making steady progress in recent months. The rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have largely been driven out of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, after the war started in April 2023. On Friday, occasional gunfire was heard in the city, but it was unclear whether it was due to fighting or celebration.

The RSF has not yet admitted to losing control, but this doesn’t mean the conflict is over, as they and their allies still control other areas in Sudan. Late Thursday, the RSF announced that it had taken control of al-Maliha, an important desert city in North Darfur, near the borders of Chad and Libya. Sudan's military confirmed that fighting was taking place in the area but did not say the city had been lost. Al-Maliha is about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of El Fasher, a city still under the control of the Sudanese military, despite frequent attacks by the RSF. The head of UNICEF has stated that this conflict has led to the world's largest humanitarian crisis. The war has caused the deaths of over 28,000 people, forced millions to leave their homes, and left some families so desperate that they are eating grass to survive as famine spreads across the country. Some reports suggest the actual death toll could be much higher. The Republican Palace was once the centre of power during British rule in Sudan. It was also where some of the first independent Sudanese flags were raised in 1956. Later, it became the main office for Sudan’s president and other top officials. The Sudanese military has repeatedly attacked the palace, using shelling and gunfire on the building and its surroundings.

Sudan, a country in northeastern Africa, has faced instability since 2019 when a popular uprising led to the removal of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir. A brief attempt at democracy was cut short in 2021 when military leaders Burhan and Dagalo staged a coup. In 2023, Sudan's military and the paramilitary RSF started fighting each other. Since early this year, Burhan's forces, including the Sudanese military and allied militias, have been gaining ground against the RSF. They recaptured an important refinery north of Khartoum and moved in on RSF positions around the capital. The ongoing fighting has resulted in more civilian casualties.

Former Sudanese leader Al-Bashir is facing charges at the International Criminal Court for leading a genocide in the early 2000s in Darfur. He worked with the Janjaweed militia, which later became the RSF. Now, human rights groups and the United Nations accuse the RSF and allied Arab militias of again attacking ethnic African groups in the current war. Since the war started, both the Sudanese military and the RSF have been accused of human rights violations. Before leaving office, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration officially declared that the RSF was committing genocide. However, both the military and the RSF deny these accusations.