Sudan army gains full control of East Nile
Battlefront shifts to Khartoum
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The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have taken full control of East Nile locality, marking a significant shift in the battle for the Sudanese capital as fighting intensifies around the remaining Rapid Support Forces (RSF) strongholds in Khartoum and Omdurman. The latest developments come amid the army’s broader campaign to dismantle RSF presence across the capital region.
The RSF had seized control of East Nile in the early days of the war, confining the army to two isolated areas – the Kadroo Military Area, which includes a military base in Kadroo itself and Hattab Reconnaissance Base, and the Signal Corps, located in southern Bahri. Since September, however, SAF made significant battlefield gains in Bahri, beginning with the crossing of the Halfaya Bridge and culminating in the full capture of Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, late last month.
From there, SAF units advanced east into East Nile’s areas of Al-Hajj Youssef and Hillat Kuku, while units advancing from Al-Jazira State simultaneously attacked the region from the south, taking the neighborhoods and outlying towns of U Dhawaban, Al-Aylifon, Um Dom, and East Soba,
Over the past few weeks, fighting for control of the locality escalated, reducing RSF presence to pockets in Hillat Kuku, Jeref East, and a few neighborhoods of Al-Hajj Youssef. The military systematically cleared RSF positions and secured key installations, including East Nile Hospital and the locality headquarters in Hillat Kuku, between March 3 and March 7.
As the offensive culminated, SAF seized the northern entrance of the Manshia Bridge, cutting off some RSF forces within Hai Al Baraka and Hai Al Wehda in Hajj Youssef, preventing their retreat to RSF-controlled east Khartoum.
The final push to retake East Nile saw coordinated assaults on these two neighborhoods, where RSF fighters had been encircled. While SAF has not issued an official statement, SAF-affiliated Islamist militia leader Misbah Talaha announced on Monday that the locality had been “liberated” from RSF control.
“East Nile locality is now completely free of the rebellion. Only a few neighborhoods in Ombada locality, some areas in Khartoum locality, and Jebel [Awlia] remain for the full liberation of the capital,” he wrote on Facebook.
This was echoed by a statement from the Coordination of Karari Resistance Committees, which noted that Sudanese army units, including elements from the General Intelligence Unit, executed sweeping raids on Al Baraka and Al Wehda neighborhoods, leading to the full recapture of East Nile.
“East Nile locality is now fully under the control of the armed forces, while the rest of the regular forces continue combing operations and weapon collection in the area. The armed forces and the General Intelligence Service carried out a raid and clearing operation in Al-Baraka neighborhood after successfully encircling the besieged Janjaweed militia elements, leading to the full recapture of the area. The armed forces have also extended their control over all residential blocks in Al-Wahda neighborhood,” the committee’s statement reads.
SAF’s progress in East Nile was underscored by a series of high-profile visits by military officials. On March 4, the operations commander of the Kadroo enclave, Gen. Al Numan Ali, visited East Nile Hospital. On March 7, Yassir Abdelrahman Atta, a controversial member of the Transitional Sovereign Council and Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the SAF, visited the Al-Aylifon SAF base in eastern East Nile, near the border with Al Jazira State.
In his address to troops, Atta congratulated them on their victories and reiterated the military’s rejection of any ceasefire. He also conveyed greetings from SAF Commander Abdelfattah Al Burhan, emphasizing national unity against the RSF, which he referred to as the “Dagalo family militia.”
A widely circulated video among SAF supporters on social media showed a junior commander reporting to Gen. Numan in front of East Nile Hospital, stating, “The final operations to liberate East Nile have been completed, and it is now free from the rebellion.” Abu Aqla Keikel, leader of the SAF-aligned Sudan Shield Forces and a former RSF ally, also appeared at the same location a day earlier, asserting the army’s control.
Capitalizing on offensive momentum
In our previous map detailing SAF’s takeover of Bahri from RSF in late February, we highlighted East Nile locality as particularly vulnerable to SAF assaults due to the absence of natural defensive barriers and the limited RSF troop presence in the area. The RSF have now been pushed out of much of Khartoum State, though they still hold central and eastern parts of the capital itself, as well as large parts of western Sudan.
The RSF gained rapidly against the SAF throughout 2023 and early 2024, but began losing territory in late 2024, beginning with SAF counteroffensives in Sennar State and Bahri. This shift accelerated in January when the SAF captured Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazira State, which had been under RSF control since December 2023.
The fall of Wad Madani, coupled with other setbacks for the RSF elsewhere, marked a turning point in the conflict. Since then, the SAF continued coordinated offensives on multiple fronts toward the capital, capitalizing on ongoing RSF withdrawals amid reports of internal divisions within the paramilitary group.
The RSF’s stranglehold on the capital was weakened when SAF broke the siege of the SAF general headquarters on January 24.
Khartoum itself now the main battleground
Videos geolocated and reviewed by Sudan War Monitor show RSF fighters fleeing East Nile via the Manshia Bridge, previously under RSF control on both ends. The SAF now control the eastern side and the RSF the western side. On March 6, Al Arabiya reporter Al Migdad Hassan reported that clashes had shifted to the southern entrance of Manshia Bridge.
The recapture of East Nile has shifted the main battleground toward Khartoum, where RSF still controls large swaths of territory, including key institutional sites such as the presidential palace, the air force headquarters, the Yarmouk Military Production Complex, the Central Reserve Police headquarters, and the Jebel Awlia military base. In Omdurman, the RSF retains control over parts of southern neighborhoods, including Al Salha and much of western Ombada.
The RSF’s ability to hold its remaining positions in Khartoum will depend on its capacity to reinforce and regroup. The capital is now nearly encircled, and RSF fighters can only come and go via the Jebel Aulia Bridge.
SAF advances on multiple fronts are accelerating, pushing west from the general command toward the Presidential Palace, east from Mogran toward central Khartoum, and southwest from Shajara and Souk El Arabi in an effort to link up its forces.
The military is also advancing toward southern Khartoum’s Soba from northern Al Jazira State and from northern parts of White Nile State, just a few kilometers from Jebel Aulia Locality. While the RSF still controls Al Bageir, SAF has secured Masaudia, which it captured last month following its rapid advance from Wad Madani.
In a related development, SAF forces have arrested hundreds of civilians in East Nile on suspicion of collaborating with the RSF. Eyewitness accounts and videos circulating on social media confirm mass arrests, with reports of extrajudicial killings. According to sources, the arrests took place in Hillat Kuku, Hajj Yousif, and Jeref East.
Sudanese authorities have also detained thousands of South Sudanese nationals in Omdurman and Al Jazira State. Witnesses report that men and women were rounded up at Omdurman’s Sabrin Market and several locations in Al Jazira State without being allowed to retrieve their children from home.
They were subsequently deported to the Joda border crossing and left there. But tensions have reportedly grown as South Sudanese authorities reportedly refuse to take the deportees, citing concerns that their children and belongings remain behind. Sudan War Monitor will cover this in a separate story.
Videos
Graphic contents! Viewer discretion advised.
In this footage filmed on March 4, 2025, RSF fighters can be seen retreating from East Nile toward eastern Khartoum via the Manshia Bridge while coming under aerial bombardment and sniper fire. Location: 15°35'57.13"N 32°35'28.55"E.
In the video below, Maj. Gen. Al Numan Ali, SAF commander of the Kadroo Military Area, is seen filming in front of East Nile Hospital.
Location: 15°35'51.73"N 32°36'17.04"E
In the video below, dated March 4, 2025, SAF fighters from the General Intelligence Service are seen inside the East Nile locality headquarters.
Location: 15°36'54.15"N 32°35'54.84"E.
In this video, dated March 4, 2025, Abu Aqla Keikel, leader of the SAF-allied Sudan Shield Force, is seen several hundred meters north of the Manshia Bridge entrance. Location: 15°35'49.27"N 32°36'6.82"E.
In this video, dated March 4, 2025, Abu Aqla Keikel is seen in front of East Nile Hospital, confronting RSF fighters who had filmed at the same location a day earlier. Location: 15°35'51.84"N 32°36'17.35"E.
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