Sudan’s military operations have pointed towards a specific target for several weeks: reclaim the Republican Palace from their entrenched enemy, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), after close to two years of war.
After two days of intense battles in and around the palace complex, victory over the symbolic site has been declared by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and soldiers sharing videos and photos from inside the palace.
“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar – Friday, the 21st day of Ramadan and the 21st of March – we entered the Republican Palace. Allahu Akbar!” a SAF captain says in a video filmed inside the building.
Sudanese army members celebrate inside the presidential palace. Pic: Reuters
The broken glass and bits of cement crunch under their feet as they tour the building and exclaim “Allahu Akbar!”.
“People will say it is photoshop but this is the Republican Palace. Inside the palace! Inside the palace!” yells the captain.
Sudanese army members film themselves inside the presidential palace. Pic: Reuters
The Republican Palace is the country’s seat of power and the official residence of its president.
Though the iconic building on the bank of the Blue Nile River decorates banknotes, it is rarely home to military rulers who prefer to live in the SAF headquarters southeast of the palace complex.
The palace was unveiled in 2015 as a gift to former military dictator Omar Al-Bashir by China.
A Sudanese army spokesperson gives a statement on Sudan TV. Pic: Sudan TV/Reuters
It stands behind the colonial governor-general’s residence where decorated British general Charles Gordon was killed by Sudanese fighters 140 years ago.
The symbolism of the old palace and the political significance of the Chinese rebuild often draws history to its steps.
In 2019, protesters marched to the palace calling for an end to military rule.
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On Friday morning, revolutionaries-turned-military-recruits entered the palace complex as victors in a battle to reclaim the cornerstones of their city.
This time under the command of Abdelfattah Al-Burhan, Al-Bashir’s former inspector-general who replaced him as head of state in the wake of the popular uprising.
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For five years, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo was Al-Burhan’s de facto vice president.
As a Janjaweed militia leader from Darfur, Hemedti worked with Al-Burhan under Al-Bashir to crush rebellions and commit ethnic cleansing in Sudan’s western region in the early 2000s.
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The pair joined forces again to upend an agreed post-revolution transition to civilian rule with a military coup in October 2021.
In April 2023, their uneasy partnership collapsed after a simmering power struggle and war erupted in Khartoum.
The RSF quickly captured the airport, the Republican Palace and the bridges that connect the tri-city capital causing millions to flee their homes.
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This conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian disaster without a single ceasefire since the start of the fighting.
RSF shelling, SAF airstrikes, starvation and disease have claimed at least 61,000 lives in Khartoum state alone.
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In under two years, the US has accused the RSF of committing genocide in Darfur and the United Nations (UN) has reported extreme sexual violence, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing of civilians at the hands of their fighters across Sudan.
SAF has been accused of war crimes, the recruitment of child soldiers and blocking much-needed humanitarian aid access.
With its shattered windows and burnt edges, the now reclaimed palace is a significant sign of a potential return to order.
A stifling status quo that was rejected by masses in popular protest but is now welcomed and celebrated after 22 months of violent terror and uncertainty.
