The Sudanese army has reportedly taken control of a major market in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, which had previously been used by their Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rivals to launch attacks during a devastating two-year-old war.
Saturday’s statement from Sudan’s army comes days after they declared victory over the RSF in Khartoum and claimed control of most parts of the capital.
The army said in the statement that its forces were now in control of the market in western Omdurman, Souq Libya, having seized weapons and equipment left behind by the RSF when they fled.
Souq Libya is one of the largest and most important commercial hubs in Sudan.
The army already controlled most of Omdurman, home to two big military bases. It appears intent on securing control over the entire capital area, comprised of the three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, divided by branches of the River Nile.
The RSF has not commented on the army's advance in Omdurman, where the paramilitary forces still hold some territory.
Al Burhan's declaration follows a statement from the Khartoum State Government, in which it said Khartoum is free from the paramilitary RSF.
A destructive power struggle
The conflict between the army and the RSF has unleashed waves of ethnic violence, created what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and plunged several areas of Sudan into famine.
The war erupted amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. It ruined much of Khartoum, uprooted more than 12 million Sudanese from their homes, and left about half of the 50 million population suffering acute hunger.
Overall deaths are hard to estimate, but a study published last year said the toll may have reached 61,000 in Khartoum state alone in the first 14 months of the conflict.
The war has added to instability in the region, with Sudan's neighbours Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan each weathering internal bouts of conflict over recent years.
