The Sudanese army on Friday seized full control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, Reuters quoted Sudan state TV and military sources as saying.

The development came as the army was conducting search operations in areas around the palace in pursuit of members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Moments later, intermittent gunfire was heard in some central areas of the capital Khartoum.

The takeover of the Presidential Palace is one of the most significant advances in a two-year-old conflict threatening to fracture the country.

The conflict has led to what the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, causing famine in several locations and disease across the country. Both sides have been accused of war crimes, while the RSF has also been charged with genocide. Both sides deny the charges.

The paramilitary group quickly took the palace and most of the capital at the outbreak of war in April 2023, but the Sudanese Armed Forces have in recent months staged a comeback and inched towards the palace along the River Nile.

The RSF, which earlier this year began establishing a parallel government, maintains control of parts of Khartoum and neighbouring Omdurman, as well as western Sudan, where it is fighting to take over the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, al-Fashir.

Capturing the capital could hasten the army’s full takeover of central Sudan, and harden the east-west territorial division of the country between the two forces.

Both sides have vowed to continue fighting for the remainder of the country, and no efforts at peace talks have materialised.