Sudanese army celebrates "turning point" after advance on capital Khartoum.

Reuters - After a week of rapid advances by the Sudanese army and its allies on the capital Khartoum, military leaders celebrated a "turning point" in the civil war, speaking to journalists from inside the army headquarters, which had been under siege since April 2023.

The recapture of the al-Jaili refinery in northern Bahri last week, along with large areas of the city across the Nile from Khartoum, set the stage for the end of the siege of the army's General Command on Friday. This allowed the army to consolidate a positive momentum in the nearly two-year war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary militia.

A Reuters witness saw civilians celebrating in the streets of Bahri and other areas, while soldiers watched the horizon through the shattered windows of Khartoum's central base and celebrated as they walked through the site, finally at peace after a long RSF attack.

"Little by little, we will get from here to al-Geneina, God willing," a soldier said on Sunday, referring to the westernmost city in the country, one of the first to fall into the hands of RSF at the start of the war and where the United States determined that RSF committed genocide.

An army leader described the moment as a turning point.

"From here, the armed forces will advance to clear every remaining inch of our homeland, and from this point onward we will see the return of all displaced Sudanese, allowing them to resume their normal lives in their homeland with safety, stability and, God willing, peace," said the army's Chief of Staff, General Mohamed Othaman al-Hussein.

The war has already displaced more than 12 million people and left half the population starving, with Reporters Without Borders and the army being held responsible for it.

Drone attack on hospital - The RSF controls most of the Darfur region and large areas of the Kordofan region, both west of Khartoum. In recent months, the army has retaken several parts of central Sudan and maintains control of the north and east.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denies the army's advances and stated on Monday that it is deploying forces in the Sharg el-Nil district of Bahri. The militia also continued its attack on al-Fashir, the last state capital in Darfur resisting its control. Over the weekend, dozens of people died in a drone strike on the city's last remaining hospital. RSF denied responsibility and blamed the army.

Analysts say the army may wait to recapture the remainder of Khartoum, where RSF is still largely deployed, before entering into negotiations.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) declared it would support the formation of its own government, while army leaders rejected the inclusion of the militia in the Sudanese state, increasing fears of a formal partition of the country.

However, another military leader from the Joint Forces, a coalition of formal rebel groups fighting alongside the army, indicated that they will continue fighting in the west of the country.

"God willing, now that we have broken the siege of the General Command, you will hear about victories of the Joint Forces alongside our brothers in the army, retaking our bases in al-Daein, Nyala, al-Fashir and Geneina [state capitals of Darfur]," said Colonel Mohamed Hasaballah.