Sudan Military launches Khartoum offensive

Early on 26 September, the Sudanese military launched a major offensive to regain control of the capital of Khartoum, which it had lost to the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces during the 17-month civil war backed by foreign players.

The army, through artillery shelling and airstrikes, targeted several areas in the capital, reclaiming strategic bridges that connect Khartoum to the cities of Omdurman and Bahri. This offensive occurred just hours before General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese military, addressed the United Nations General Assembly's 79th session.

During his speech, Al-Burhan accused the RSF and its international supporters of fueling the devastation in Sudan. In May, the Sudanese ambassador to the UN said the United Arab Emirates backs the RSF. Al-Burhan framed the conflict as the RSF's power grab, which had morphed into a total war against both the Sudanese state and its people. The RSF has been implicated in human rights violations, including ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The war has caused a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions, with half of Sudan's 50 million people facing acute hunger and 12 million displaced. The death toll, estimated between 20,000 and as high as 150,000, according to the US envoy, remains uncertain because infrastructure destruction has prevented accurate reporting.

Video credit: t.me/sudaaan/24302