As Sudan’s army routs RSF from Khartoum, Sudanese reactions are mixed

Many Sudanese civilians are welcoming the army as a liberator as it advances across the capital, Khartoum, to topple the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

But activists on the ground say both sides are increasingly resorting to brutal tactics, which are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

On February 1, the paramilitary fired artillery in a crowded market in Omdurman, killing at least 56 people.

A week later, the RSF detained two local relief workers as well as the manager of one of the last functioning hospitals in Khartoum, located in a historically marginalised “southern belt”, where ethnic minorities from Sudan’s peripheral regions predominantly live.

Al Jazeera was unable to verify the fate of the three people.

The army, meanwhile, is encountering stiffer resistance from the RSF in central Khartoum and in the sprawling Sharq el-Nile (East Nile) district. It reacted by imposing a partial siege on these city districts last week, activists on the ground told Al Jazeera.

“Right now, the city is besieged…and the only way out of it is heading west to Darfur, but this route is targeted by [army] drones and fighter jets,” said Augreis*, a local activist and humanitarian volunteer residing in east Khartoum.

Bittersweet return

Since April 2023, the RSF and army have been locked in a brutal conflict over control of the country.

The conflict has generated the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world”, with tens of thousands of people believed to be dead from armed violence and about 12.5 million uprooted from their homes.