The Sudanese government has officially returned to the capital Khartoum, after operating from Port Sudan for nearly three years.
The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023, killing thousands and displacing around 12 million people amid spreading famine and cholera outbreaks.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) controls 13 out of Sudan’s 18 states, consolidating its grip on Sudan’s south, north, east and center, including the capital Khartoum.
On the other hand, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) holds all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under the SAF control.
Back to Khartoum
The Sudanese Prime Minister, Kamil Idris, announced on Sunday that the SAF-aligned government has officially returned to Khartoum, emphasizing that this return includes all government institutions.
“Today, we return, and the Government of Hope returns to the national capital,” Kamil told reporters during a press briefing in Khartoum.
Since the eruption of the war in 2023, government ministries and institutions have relocated to Port Sudan as fighting made the capital unsafe and destroyed much of its infrastructure.
Restoring Services
The Sudanese capital, with its three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North (Bahri), had become an active battlefield, forcing millions of people to flee the city.
However, the SAF managed to recapture Khartoum in March 2025. According to the UN, around 1.2 million people returned to the capital between March and October. But they found the city left in ruins.
Humanitarian organizations have warned of the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Khartoum, amid severe food shortages and worsening healthcare services.
Addressing people in Bahri, Idris said that the government is working to improve healthcare, education, electricity, water and sanitation services, promising to strengthen security and enhance economic development.
Furthermore, he said that the 2026 budget will not impose additional burdens on citizens, targeting an inflation reduction to 70% and a 10% increase in the country’s GDP.
Year of Peace
The Sudanese Prime Minister declared that 2026 would be a “year of peace” for Sudan, affirming that the government has indications that peace is “inevitable.”
Idris emphasized that peace is a primary goal for the Sudanese government. However, it must be the “peace of the brave,” which satisfies all Sudanese. This peace must align with the comprehensive peace initiative presented by the Sudanese government to the UN Security Council.
The peace initiative calls for a comprehensive ceasefire monitored by the UN, the African Union (AU) and the Arab League (AL).
It requires the withdrawal of the RSF from the areas they control, in line with the terms of the Jeddah Declaration, and the disarmament of the paramilitary group under international supervision and with guarantees against arms recycling.
In light of this, Idris said the peace initiative has gained unlimited regional and international support, most recently from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Returning to AU
Idris said that Sudan could possibly return to the African Union (AU) this year, noting that the bloc needs Sudan as a “founding member.”
Moreover, he pointed to ongoing talks to unfreeze Sudan’s membership based on the country’s interests, rather than the agendas sought by what he described as “hostile entities.”
The war in Sudan reached its 1,000-day-mark on Friday, January 9, 2026, amid catastrophic humanitarian conditions. Heavy fighting between SAF and RSF is still raging across multiple fronts in Kordofan and Darfur.
Mediation efforts to bring peace and end the war in Sudan have stalled as the SAF turns down any truce that keeps the RSF in the country, while the paramilitary forces try to capture more territories.
