On Thursday, eyewitnesses described the ongoing violent clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital, Khartoum, as a “holocaust.”
Fires rage across the cities of Khartoum, Khartoum North, and Omdurman, accompanied by the sounds of explosions and heavy shelling. There is a pervasive sense of panic and fear among civilians trapped in combat zones, as military aircraft soar overhead.
Intense fighting erupted early Thursday when the army launched an assault from the Omdurman axis, attempting to cross two major bridges toward Khartoum and Khartoum North, supported by extensive airstrikes. In response, the RSF, which controls Khartoum and Khartoum North, retaliated with heavy artillery fire.
No official statements have been released from either side, but reports from affiliated media outlets indicate that hundreds of soldiers have been killed or injured in the clashes.
According to army-affiliated platforms, they managed to regain control of the Kadró area in Khartoum North and the Tuti Island northwest of Khartoum, territories that had been under RSF control since the early weeks of the conflict that began in mid-April 2023.
Conversely, RSF-affiliated platforms claimed they successfully repelled the assault, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of army troops. Bashar Tabeq, an advisor to the RSF commander, tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) that their forces thwarted advances from two axes: the Engineers Corps in Omdurman toward Khartoum and another direction toward Khartoum North.
Eyewitnesses in the Al-Sahafa and Al-Daim neighborhoods in central and southern Khartoum reported that several civilians sheltering in their homes were struck by shrapnel from the intense crossfire. The situation is exacerbated by the complete absence of ambulances and heightened tensions on the streets, with smoke billowing from several areas, particularly the Arab Market and the General Command of the Army in northeastern Khartoum.
The current escalation in fighting risks broadening and entrenching the armed conflict while deepening ethnic divisions within Sudanese society, further destabilizing the region.
The clashes have resulted in horrific levels of suffering for civilians, with over 13 million displaced from their homes and nearly 26 million at risk of famine. Additionally, more than 60% of the population has lost their livelihoods due to the war, which has now spread across over 70% of the country.
