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Sudan’s army is close to taking control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, state TV reported on Thursday, in a significant milestone in a two-year-old conflict that threatens to fracture the country.

The RSF quickly took the palace and most of the capital at the outbreak of war in April 2023, but the Sudanese Armed Forces have in recent months staged a comeback and inched toward the palace along the River Nile.

The RSF, which earlier this year began establishing a parallel government, maintains control of parts of Khartoum and neighboring Omdurman, as well as western Sudan, where it is fighting to take control of the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, Al-Fashir.

The taking of the capital could hasten the army’s full takeover of central Sudan, and harden the east-west territorial division of the country between the two forces.

Both sides have vowed to continue fighting for the remainder of the country, and no efforts at peace talks have materialized.

The war erupted amid a power struggle between Sudan’s army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

World’s largest humanitarian crisis

The conflict has led to what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, causing famine in several locations and disease across the country. Both sides have been accused of war crimes, while the RSF has also been charged with genocide. Both forces deny the charges.

The fight for the Presidential Palace has raged over the past several weeks, with the RSF fighting fiercely to maintain control, including via snipers placed around surrounding downtown buildings. Its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, instructed troops earlier this week not to give up the palace.

Late on Wednesday into Thursday morning, explosions could be heard from airstrikes and drone attacks by the army targeting central Khartoum, witnesses and military sources told Reuters. The army has long maintained the advantage of air power over the RSF, though the paramilitary group has shown evidence of increased drone capabilities recently.

On the Telegram messenger app, the RSF said its forces were making advances toward the Army General Command, also in central Khartoum, and eyewitnesses said the force was attacking from southern Khartoum.

The army’s advance in central Sudan since late last year has been welcomed by many people, who had been displaced by the RSF, which has been accused of widespread looting and arbitrary killings, and of occupying homes and neighborhoods.

The RSF denies the charges and says individual perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Hundreds of thousands of people have returned to their homes in Central Sudan, though late on Wednesday activists in Omdurman warned that some soldiers have engaged in robbery. The military has routinely denied such allegations.

Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early on Thursday as hostilities with the Houthis intensified, amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to punish Iran over its perceived support for the Yemeni militant group.
Sirens sounded across several areas in Israel after the projectile was fired, the military said. The Israeli police said sirens were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
“A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol,” the Israeli military said in a statement, referring to its air force.
Israel’s ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported.
Yemen’s Houthi militants, undeterred by waves of US strikes since Saturday, fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesperson said in a televised statement.
The group has recently vowed to escalate their attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the US campaign.
US strikes which began on Saturday over the Houthis’ attacks against Red Sea shipping are the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 31 people.
Trump also threatened on Monday to hold Iran accountable for any future Houthi attacks, warning of severe consequences. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Houthis were independent and took their own strategic and operational decisions.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile toward Israel and would expand their range of targets in that country in coming days in retaliation for renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza after weeks of relative calm.
The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.
The Houthis are part of what has been called the “Axis of Resistance” — an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.