After more than two years under curfew, Khartoum is finally trying to breathe again. But can normal life really return when the war is still raging in the south and west?

Sudan’s military-led government has lifted the curfew and state of emergency in Khartoum. State media confirmed the move this week, a full 18 months after the army clawed the capital back from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

For context, this is a war now well into its fourth year. Fighting erupted on 15 April 2023 in Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and the RSF led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

What started as a power struggle between two generals who had together ousted long-time ruler Omar al Bashir in 2019 has become the world’s largest displacement crisis.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, about five million people fled Khartoum after the war began. Since fighting in the city ended in March 2025, more than two million have returned.

The government says lifting the curfew is meant to restore normal life. Khartoum’s main airport has reopened for some flights and businesses and embassies are being urged to come back.

Residents are coming home to looted buildings, stripped copper wiring and constant blackouts. Khartoum state spokesperson Altayeb Saadeldin told Reuters the electricity sector was hit especially hard by looting of fuel and components and by alleged RSF drone strikes, plus a lack of funds for repairs.

The Sudan News Agency says patrols will continue across the state and anyone travelling at night must carry ID. BBC Monitoring reports the army is still carrying out sweeps for alleged RSF sleeper cells and undocumented groups.

And there is a worrying regional spillover. Chad has accused Sudan’s army of an air strike on 20 August that hit a military convoy in Ennedi Est province about 100km inside Chadian territory and says its border forces are on maximum alert. Khartoum denies it and says it respects neighbour sovereignty.

Sudan in turn accuses Chad of allowing RSF supplies from the United Arab Emirates to pass through its airports and borders, claims both Abu Dhabi and Ndjamena deny despite similar findings by UN experts.

That has drawn in Washington. US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos said he is deeply concerned and condemned the reported strike inside Chad, adding there is no military solution and no justification for expanding the violence. He is pushing for an immediate humanitarian truce.

This month, Boulos tabled a draft UN Security Council resolution to extend the 2005 Darfur arms embargo to the whole of Sudan and include a ban on attack drones. Sudan’s government and army have rejected it, saying it equates a recognised national army with a paramilitary force.

Attribution: Original reporting via cbinews.tv with additional background from state media, IOM and Reuters.

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