The Sudanese army is encircling Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, another key development in the ongoing two-year conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Reuters News Agency reports, quoting two military sources.

RSF has yet to comment on the army’s claims. Its territorial control has been shrinking rapidly in recent weeks, with the army reclaiming areas across Khartoum, Al-Jazira, White Nile, North Kordofan, Sennar, and Blue Nile states.

The Sudanese army on Tuesday announced fresh gains in the capital Khartoum and other regions, further reducing the territory controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a statement, the army released a control map showing its forces and allied units expanding their presence in Khartoum, White Nile, and Kordofan states in southern Sudan.

Losing territory

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu News Agency that RSF fighters had withdrawn from the eastern Khartoum neighbourhoods of Burri and Arkaweet, as well as Al-Azhari and Al-Sahafa in the south.

Meanwhile, the Sudan Shield Forces—an army-allied militia led by Abu Agla Keikel—said its fighters had captured the Sondos Agricultural Project area, long considered a key RSF stronghold in southern Khartoum.

Despite the setbacks, the RSF still holds four states in the Darfur region and maintains a foothold in northern and western Kordofan, according to the latest updates.

The announcement comes just days after the Sudanese military regained control of the presidential palace in Khartoum for the first time since the war began with the paramilitary group nearly two years ago.

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities.

The international community and the UN have called for an end to the war, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages.

The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.