Key facts
- Sudan's government has lifted a two-year curfew and state of emergency in Khartoum.
- The move aims to facilitate the return of normal life and encourage businesses and embassies to return.
- Clashes continue in southern and western Sudan, with evidence of the conflict spreading across borders.
- Over two million people who fled Khartoum have returned since fighting there ended in March 2025.
- Chad accused the Sudanese army of an air strike on its territory, leading to heightened border alert.
- The US condemned the air strike and urged an end to external support for warring parties.
Sudan's military-led government has lifted a two-year curfew and state of emergency in the capital, Khartoum, in an effort to restore normalcy. The decision comes 18 months after the army regained control of the city from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) amid an ongoing civil war. While the lifting of restrictions aims to encourage the return of normal life, including reopening the main airport and encouraging businesses and embassies, significant challenges remain for residents. Many are returning to widespread damage, looted buildings, and persistent power blackouts, which the Khartoum state government attributes to RSF drone attacks and a lack of funds for repairs. The RSF has denied these allegations, calling them "army propaganda."
Despite the lifting of the state of emergency, security forces are maintaining patrols and requiring identification for nighttime travel, indicating ongoing concerns about RSF infiltration. Meanwhile, the conflict is increasingly drawing in neighboring countries. Chad has accused the Sudanese army of conducting an air strike within its territory, prompting Chad to place its forces on high alert. Sudan has denied the accusation and expressed surprise at being blamed without an independent investigation, while also accusing Chad of facilitating RSF supplies. The US has voiced deep concern over the potential for the war to threaten regional stability, with a senior advisor urging an immediate humanitarian truce and an end to external support for the warring factions. The US has also proposed a UN Security Council resolution to extend a weapons embargo across all of Sudan, which the Sudanese government has rejected.