March 21 (UPI) -- The Sudanese military recaptured the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum, on Friday, as it continued to make advances in its two-year-long civil war against the Rapid Support Forces.
"Today, the flag has been raised, the palace has been reclaimed and the journey continues until victory is fully achieved," Khalid Al-Eisayir, Sudan's information minister, said in a statement on X.
Videos circulated on social media show Sudanese Armed Forces soldiers celebrating outside the war-torn palace.
Recapturing the palace marks a mostly symbolic yet significant victory in its fight against the RSF.
Sudan's military has been gaining ground against the breakaway paramilitary group over the last few months and the victory comes as the SAF advances on the capital while RFS troops withdraw. The RFS had seized the capital and its palace early in the war.
Last month, buoyed by the success of its offensive, Sudan unveiled a postwar roadmap toward establishing democratic elections in the country.
The SAF and the RSF have been fighting a brutal civil war since April 15, 2023, following years of political instability.
After the ouster of Sudan's three-decade dictator government of President Omar al-bashir in a civilian-coup, the country was crawling toward establishing a democratic government.
However, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the SAF and his then-deputy, Mohammad Hamdan of the RSF, executed another coup but infighting devolved into all-out war.
The war has killed an unknown number of people those estimates range widely as as 150,000. The United Nations has described Sudan as "the largest and most devastating displacement, humanitarian and protection crisis in the world," with more than 30 million people in need of aid and 12.5 million displaced.
The United States has accused the RSF and its proxy militias of committing genocide in the war and has formally declared that both sides have committed war crimes, an assessment shared by the International Criminal Court.