Port Sudan (Sudan) (AFP) – The Sudanese army said on Saturday it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, long used by its rival Rapid Support Forces as a staging ground for attacks.

It is the latest conquest in the army’s major offensive this month to wrest back control of the entire capital region, which includes Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri – three cities split by branches of the River Nile.

The blitz saw the army recapture the presidential palace on March 21, followed by the war-damaged airport and other key sites in the city centre.

In a statement, army spokesman Nabil Abdullah said forces extended “their control over Souq Libya in Omdurman” and seized “weapons and equipment left behind by” the RSF as they fled.

Souq Libya, one of the largest and busiest in the Khartoum area, had for months been an RSF stronghold and a launchpad for attacks on northern and central Omdurman since the war with the army began on April 15, 2023.

While the army already controls much of Omdurman, the RSF still holds ground in the city’s west, particularly in Ombada district.

Late Thursday, the military spokesman said that the army had “cleansed” Khartoum itself from “the last pockets” of the RSF.

Sudan’s war began almost two years ago during a power struggle between the army and the RSF, a paramilitary force that was once its ally.