RSF commander acknowledges withdrawal from Khartoum, vows to regroup

KHARTOUM | Xinhua | Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged on Sunday his paramilitary group had withdrawn from Khartoum, part of Sudan’s capital region, calling the move a tactical repositioning to Omdurman, another city within the tripartite capital region.

In an audio message circulated via Telegram, Dagalo told his forces the withdrawal was a “decision approved by the command and the operations management,” framing it as part of a broader strategy. “I assure you we have left Khartoum, but we will return stronger,” he said, adding that the nearly two-year war against Sudan’s military was “still in its early stages.”

His remarks marked the RSF’s first direct response to the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) recent claims of retaking key sites in Khartoum, including the presidential palace and central government buildings seized on March 21.

On March 26, the army said it regained control of Khartoum International Airport, a strategic hub held by the RSF since April 2023. Military officials this week asserted the SAF now commands all of Khartoum, one of three cities in the capital region, including Omdurman and Bahri.

The conflict between the SAF and RSF, which erupted in April 2023 over tensions linked to a planned political transition, has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 15 million people, and left Sudan facing what the United Nations calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. UN agencies warn the country is nearing famine, with its healthcare system collapsed and accurate casualty counts nearly impossible to verify. ■