December 7, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been forced to retreat from neighbourhoods in north Khartoum Bahri to areas east of the Nile River after army attacks, field sources said on Saturday.
The army gained control of the Halfaya district in late September and has since expanded into areas to the northeast, using them as a base to launch attacks on the Shambat and Al-Safiya neighbourhoods in north Khartoum Bahri.
“The RSF withdrew from the Al-Safiya neighbourhood and some locations in Shambat under attacks by army drones,” a field source told Sudan Tribune.
A military situation report seen by Sudan Tribune confirmed the RSF withdrawal “from the Malhamat Al-Usra and Laffa Janoub positions in Al-Safiya to the east of the Nile.”
It added that the RSF also withdrew from some of its positions in Shambat to neighbouring residential areas.
Last week, the army reached the Al-Zarqa Engineering Complex, which belongs to the Military Industry Corporation and separates the Shambat and Halfaya districts.
The report also mentioned an air force raid on the Paratroopers’ base, which includes the RSF medical centre, located near the Shambat Bridge and close to residential areas.
It noted limited movement of RSF combat vehicles during daylight hours in Shambat and surrounding neighbourhoods.
The army seeks to link its forces in Halfaya with the Signal Corps base in the far south of Khartoum Bahri, allowing it to connect Bahri with the army’s general command in central Khartoum.
The army has made significant gains in Khartoum since launching a military operation on September 26, but has been unable to retake the Moqran area in central Khartoum due to the massive presence of RSF snipers in high-rise buildings.
