Sudan Lifts Two-Year Curfew in Capital Khartoum After Military Retakes City

Sudan's military authorities have ended a curfew that had been in place in the capital Khartoum for two years, in a sign of tentative normalization following the army's recapture of the city from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) 18 months ago.

The curfew had been imposed during the early stages of the civil war that broke out in April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF. Khartoum became a major battleground, suffering extensive destruction.

While the lifting of the curfew signals a measure of stability returning to the capital, large parts of Sudan remain engulfed in conflict. The RSF continues to control significant territory in Darfur and other western regions, where reports of atrocities against civilians have continued to emerge.

Sudan's civil war has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, displacing millions of people and leaving large portions of the population facing severe food insecurity.

The United Nations has called the situation in Sudan the world's largest displacement crisis, with an estimated 12 million people internally displaced and millions more having fled to neighboring countries including Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan.

International efforts to broker a ceasefire have repeatedly failed. Saudi Arabia and the United States had previously hosted talks between the two sides, but no durable agreement has been reached. The African Union and other bodies continue mediation efforts.