Sudan Army Reclaims Khartoum Airport

MAR 26 2025·Updated MAR 27 2025

Story

Above: Army-aligned fighters patrol a market district in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. Image credit: Contributor/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

According to an AFP source, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have recaptured Khartoum International Airport from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with SAF leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan proclaiming, “Khartoum is free.”
RFI
The New Arab
Al Jazeera
This victory follows the SAF’s reclamation of the presidential palace on Friday, a symbol of power in Sudan, enabling them to advance through central Khartoum and seize multiple state institutions previously under RSF control since April 2023.
BBC News
RFI
A military source told AFP that in southern Khartoum, the SAF had “surrounded the strategic Jebel Awliya area from three directions”, leaving the Jebel Awliya bridge as the last RSF-controlled route back to their strongholds in Darfur, western Sudan.
The New Arab
Africanews
Eyewitnesses reported RSF fighters retreating southward, abandoning previously occupied homes and neighborhoods, with some fighters said to have taken furniture and their families as they withdrew toward the Jebel Awliya crossing.
RFI
TRTGLOBAL
The ongoing conflict, which began in April 2023, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths (with an estimated 61,202 in Khartoum state alone) and displaced more than 12.5 million people, creating the world's largest displacement crisis.
SSRN
Unrefugees
According to the World Food Programme, 24.6 million people face acute hunger in Sudan, among which 638,000 face “catastrophic levels of hunger," as the conflict has destroyed Sudan's key infrastructure and agricultural sector.
WFP
Geopoliticalmonitor

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The SAF's recent victories mark a pivotal shift in the conflict, signaling the end of the Battle of Khartoum, which has been waged since the conflict began. With its grip on the capital lost, the RSF will be forced to retreat to its stronghold in Darfur, effectively ceding central Sudan to government forces. With their stranglehold over Khartoum secured, the SAF will be in a better position to prosecute their war.

The New York Times

Narrative B

Although the RSF's defeat in Khartoum is a major blow, the war is far from over. Withdrawing to their strong points in western Sudan, and in light of the continued support they will receive from foreign entities, such as the United Arab Emirates, and from their allies like SPLM-N (al-Hilu), the RSF remains capable of prolonging the conflict.

Al Jazeera