It was reported on 21 May that, according to the Sudanese military, the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group, which has been engaged in a two-year war with Sudan’s army, had been completely pushed out of Khartoum state.
The army was reported as announcing the news in a statement published by Sudan’s News Agency, stating “Khartoum State is completely free of rebels”.
This announcement came almost two months after the military recaptured the presidential palace and the rest of Khartoum city from the RSF in a major victory.
It was also reported that earlier on 20May, “fighting had broken out between the warring groups in the city of Omdurman – which is also in Khartoum state and part of the capital region”. The army was said to have stated on Monday that it had “started a “large-scale offensive” in Omdurman, according to the AFP news agency”.
Drone attacks by the RSF
Any hopes that the retaking of Khartoum State by the Sudanese army might herald the beginning of the end of the terrible conflict are viewed as unfounded. It was reported on 20May that the trumpet horns of military victory blown by the Sudanese army were quickly followed by the ominous and deadly buzz of drones sent by the RSF.
Indeed, instead of peace coming to the region, it has been noted that, “The war has entered a dangerous aerial phase with any illusions of normalcy shattered by multi-day drone attacks on the wartime administrative centre Port Sudan and sanctuary cities across the North East.”
A new Prime Minister for Sudan
For the first time since 2021, Sudan has installed a Prime Minister, after a coup had ousted civilian leadership and established a caretaker government four years ago. Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al Burhan appointed a former UN official, Kamil Idris, as prime minister of the country’s military-led government on 19 May.
However, it is by no means clear just how much power Idris will have as the army fights its long and highly destructive battle against the paramilitary RSF.
The world’s worst humanitarian crisis
For a number of years now, the civil war in Sudan has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. It was reported back in September last year that since the war had begun in February 2023, “the United Nations estimates 7.9 million people have been internally displaced and 2.1 million have fled the country and about half of Sudan’s population is now suffering from acute hunger”.
As for the death toll, it was reported in February this year, by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, researchers were “poring over satellite images and thermal sensing data captured over the Darfur region of Sudan over the past few weeks, looking for telltale signs of recent violence”.
The Yale researchers don’t make estimates but using the evidence, they noted that, “In December, the Yale lab reported that nearly half of hospitals in Khartoum state were damaged. On 5 February, it said the RSF had attacked Zamzam and other camps in January and razed dozens of communities around El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, often setting them ablaze. It found many newly dug mounds highly consistent with graves near Zamzam and in Abu Shouk, another camp for the internally displaced. Satellite imagery has also shown the warring factions are burning fields and corrals and attacking water boreholes and reservoirs”.
Other organisations have estimated the number of deaths in the civil war in Sudan. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), an independent nonprofit that monitors conflicts around the world, estimated in December 2024 that 28 700 civilians had been killed in Sudan. However, Maysoon Dahab, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and colleagues have reported to think that the toll is far higher, as much as 61 000 deaths from all causes combined. Sarah Elizabeth, Scales of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and her colleagues have put the death toll even higher at 62 000 up to last October.
Whatever the truth of the matter, there can be no doubt that a huge humanitarian crisis is being played put in Sudan, while the world largely turns its head away.
Can the new Prime Minister provide a steer for civilians and bring relief to Sudan?
I asked two North East-based people originally from Sudan for their thoughts about the new situation.
Mohamed Nasreldin commented as follows:
“The appointment of Kamil Idris as Sudan’s Prime Minister is unlikely to provide meaningful direction for civilians or bring relief amid the ongoing conflict. This move appears more symbolic than substantive, a calculated effort by the military to project an image of reform and civilian inclusion without surrendering any real power. There is little indication that the military intends to cede control to any civilian authority, particularly one that does not align with the Islamist factions that continue to wield significant influence behind the scenes.
Far from being a step toward civilian rule, Idris’s appointment is being used to suggest that Islamists no longer hold sway over the military, a claim that contradicts both recent history and current power dynamics within the army’s upper ranks.
Though Idris brings international experience, particularly from his tenure at the United Nations, his past integrity issues cast a long shadow, especially at a moment when Sudan desperately needs leadership that is credible, transparent, and accountable. Moreover, his long absence from Sudanese public life and lack of a domestic political base severely limit his ability to engage meaningfully with the civilian population or mobilise the kind of grassroots support needed to steer the country through its darkest hour.
In short, Idris’s appointment serves more as a political manoeuvre than a genuine attempt at national recovery. Without real authority, domestic legitimacy, or a break from the military-Islamist power structure, he is unlikely to be able to chart a new course for Sudan or deliver the relief its people so desperately need.”
Isra Mohammed backed up these thoughts saying: “In times like this where there is deep political and social tension, a new government or PM cannot be effectively appointed or function when corruption is entrenched within the system.
“Therefore, to break the cycle, Sudan requires a complete rest which is an establishment of a civilian lead government built from the ground up. Sudan is currently at a crossroads. While the future vision must include the creation of a clean, accountable civilian government, right now, it is important to prioritise saving lives and ensuring medical aid is provided for those suffering from the current cholera outbreak. Sudan can begin its journey of stability and recovery when basic human rights/needs are prioritised over political power.”
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