Summary

  • Sudan's army announces its fighters have entered the presidential palace in the centre of Khartoum

  • In recent weeks the army has stepped up its campaign against the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city, which it lost at the start of the war in 2023

  • Reclaiming Khartoum would be a huge victory for the army and a pivotal moment in the conflict

  • But the RSF says it is fighting back and claims to have launched an attack on the palace

  • The RSF also still controls large parts of the country – including much of the west

  • The two-year civil war has caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis, according to the UN

  • New to this story? Here's a summary of the background

Sudanese troops film themselves in presidential palace

Live Reporting

Edited by Damian Zane, Wycliffe Muia, Danai Nesta Kupemba and Natasha Booty

  1. We completely destroyed enemy's fighters - army

    Army spokesman Nabil AbdallahSudan TV

    Besides the palace, the Sudan's army said it had also taken control of ministries and other key buildings in central Khartoum.

    "Our forces completely destroyed the enemy's fighters and equipment, and seized large quantities of equipment and weapons," army spokesman Nabil Abdallah said in a broadcast on state television.

    Abdallah vowed the army would "continue to progress on all fronts until victory is complete and every inch of our country is purged of the militia and its supporters".

  2. Why does this matter?

    Barbara Plett Usher
    BBC News, Port Sudan

    This has been the crucial battle in the army’s offensive to retake the capital from its paramilitary rivals.

    The presidential palace is in central Khartoum, the area that includes most of the government ministries and financial institutions – the army’s been advancing there in recent days amid fierce fighting.

    It’s also a symbolic victory – because the palace has great historic and political significance.

    The RSF continues to fight in parts of the city.

    But re-capturing the strategic building signals the end of its control over the capital.

    This could be a pivotal moment in Sudan’s brutal civil war, but would not end it.

    Two years of conflict have created a massive humanitarian crisis and split the country in two, between zones controlled by the army and the RSF.

  3. Sudan army recaptures presidential palace

    The Sudanese army has recaptured the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum amid intense fighting.

    The strategic building was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which took control of the capital when civil war erupted nearly two years ago.

    The conflict has escalated in recent months with the army making significant advances against the RSF.

    The paramilitary group has yet to comment.

  4. Sudan's army poised to retake capital

    Welcome to our live coverage of the fighting in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, as the army retakes the city's presidential palace.