Intense clashes between Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army in the capital Khartoum resulted in the destruction of one of Sudan’s prominent landmarks, a towering skyscraper that served as the headquarters of a major oil company and overlooked the River Nile, has been left in ruins, engulfed in smouldering wreckage.
The head office of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, characterised by its glass façade and a distinctive metal coil at the top, was constructed during an oil industry boom before South Sudan’s declaration of independence in 2011. It stood as one of Sudan’s most expensive and noteworthy architectural endeavours.
Flames and smoke billowed from the structure located in a financial district of Khartoum, situated near the junction of the Blue and White Niles, in proximity to areas contested by Sudan’s military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF on late Sunday accused the army of deliberately targeting the iconic structure along with other landmarks in a bid to dislodge RSF forces from their positions in the capital.
“These targeted attacks in Khartoum have impacted critical facilities, including the Ministry of Justice, Tax Bureau, General Organization for Standardization and Metrology Tower, and Nile Petroleum Company Tower,” RSF said.
There was no immediate comment from the army.
The armed forces have been heavily criticised by health workers and civil groups in the last few weeks for carrying out indiscriminate bombing campaigns on civilians and residential areas across Sudan.
Last week’s army air and artillery strikes in and around the capital killed over 150 people and injured hundreds more.
RSF also accused the army of carrying out barrel bomb attacks on markets and residential areas.
“These savage attacks not only target the resources of the Sudanese people but also fortify the resolve of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to dismantle the terrorist regime,” RSF said.
Sudanese group said army resorts to these tactics when troop mmorale is low due to losses on the battlefield.
“These are desperate moves to mask their strategic incompetency.”
“The SAF and its patrons linked to the former regime are cornered. Their only options are to either surrender their remaining positions or brace for their unavoidable downfall,” the group declared in a statement on Sunday.
War broke out in Sudan on April 15 – four years after a popular uprising ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir. Tensions between the army (SAF) and RSF, which jointly removed him from power in 2021, erupted into fighting over a plan to integrate their forces as part of a transition to civilian rule.
According to the United Nations, since April, approximately 380,000 refugees, predominantly women and children, have sought refuge in Chad due to the conflict. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands have also fled to countries including the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.