Sudan army surrounds Khartoum airport, sources say, in battle for capital

PHOTO CAPTION: (Reuters)

DUBAI (Reuters) -The Sudanese army is encircling Khartoum airport, two military sources told Reuters on Wednesday, as it battles to oust its rival Rapid Support Forces from a last foothold in the capital, though the war looks far from over. 

The army seized the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum after fighting on Friday, an important symbolic advance after two years of a conflict that is splitting the massive country into rival zones of control. 

On Wednesday, the army said it had gained control of Tiba al-Hassanab camp south of the capital, which it described as the RSF's last base in central Sudan and last stronghold in Khartoum State. 

The military sources said the army was encircling the airport, which is located in the city centre, and surrounding areas. Witnesses said the RSF had focused its troops in southern Khartoum, apparently to secure their withdrawal from the city via bridges to the neighbouring city of Omdurman. 

Recent army gains in central Sudan, retaking districts of the capital and other territory, come as the RSF has consolidated its control in the west, hardening battle lines and threatening to move the country towards a de facto partition. 

The war, which erupted two years ago as the country was attempting a democratic transition, has caused what the U.N. calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with famine in several areas as well as outbreaks of disease. 

It has driven 12.5 million people from their homes, many of them seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. 

ERUPTION OF WARFARE

The army and RSF had at one point been in a fragile partnership together, jointly staging a coup in 2021 that derailed the transition from the Islamist rule of Omar al-Bashir, a longtime autocrat who was ousted in 2019.

They had also fought on the same side for years in the western state of Darfur under Bashir's government. 

The RSF, under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, developed from Darfur's janjaweed militias and Bashir developed the group as a counterweight to the army, led by career officer Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. 

After they seized power together in 2021, the two sides clashed over an internationally backed plan aimed at launching a new transition with civilian parties that would require them both to cede powers. 

Major points of dispute included a timetable for the RSF to integrate into the regular armed forces, the chain of command between army and RSF leaders, and the question of civilian oversight. 

When fighting broke out, Sudan's army had better resources including air power. However, the RSF was more deeply embedded in neighbourhoods across Khartoum and was able to hold much of the capital in an initial, devastating burst of warfare. 

The RSF also made rapid advances to gain control of its main stronghold of Darfur and over El Gezira state, south of Khartoum, a big farming area. 

With the army now re-establishing its position in the capital, it is making a new push to cement its control in the centre of Sudan. 

 (Reporting by Khalid Abdulaziz and Tala Ramadan; Writing by Jana Choukeir and Angus McDowall; Editing by Toby Chopra, Frances Kerry and Alex Richardson)