US says killed senior Qaeda operative in Syria strike

PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s military advanced on central Khartoum “from multiple axes” on Thursday, an army source told AFP, with troops nearing the paramilitary-controlled Republican Palace.
The army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, has in recent weeks mounted a fierce offensive to reclaim full control of the capital.
“Our forces are close to reaching the center of Khartoum... and expelling the Dagalo militia,” a source in the army told AFP, referring to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
“Our armored forces are advancing from multiple axes,” he added, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
On Wednesday, the army said it had “cleared out” the neighborhoods of Al-Remila and the Industrial Area in central Khartoum — only three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the RSF-held Republican Palace.
But eyewitnesses on Thursday said army troops had to make their way through RSF snipers posted on high-rises in what used to be Khartoum’s business and government district.
The RSF did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
Further south, witnesses reported clashes between the army and the RSF around Soba Bridge — a key southeastern entry point to the capital.
In recent weeks, the army has surged through the capital, breaking a nearly two-year siege by the RSF on its headquarters and pushing the paramilitary to the edges of Khartoum North, also known as Bahri.
The army’s advance on the capital is its biggest victory in a year, since it regained Omdurman across the Nile River which, together with Khartoum North and the city center, makes up greater Khartoum.
Since it erupted, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Israel’s defense minister says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump’s proposal for the war-ravaged territory.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said the plan “will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
He said he welcomed Trump’s “bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world.”
He did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel’s 15-month military campaign against Hamas.
Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza’s population be “permanently” resettled elsewhere while the United States rebuilds the territory.
US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, deepening and perpetuating a refugee crisis dating back to the establishment of the state.
Trump’s plan was roundly rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community. Rights groups said it would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law.