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Curfew lifted in Khartoum
Sudan’s military-led government lifted a two-year curfew and state of emergency in Khartoum, with the decision announced after the army reclaimed control of the capital from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces eighteen months ago.
“lifted a curfew and state of emergency in Khartoum”
The BBC said the curfew and emergency were imposed more than two years ago and that the aim of lifting them is to help restore normal life in the capital, while clashes continue in the south and west.
The BBC also reported that more than two million of the roughly five million people who fled Khartoum after war erupted in April 2023 have returned since fighting there ended in March 2025, and that the government reopened the city’s main airport for some flights.
Despite the easing of restrictions, the BBC said residents still struggle to rebuild their livelihoods amid widespread damage and constant power blackouts tied to alleged RSF drone attacks on electricity infrastructure and a lack of government funds to carry out repairs.
In a Reuters account carried by the BBC, Altayeb Saadeldin said “The targeting of the electricity sector in particular was very significant,” listing looting of copper wires and fuel and other components, as well as drone attacks, as reasons for the outages.
Security measures and disputes
Even as the curfew was lifted, the Sudan News Agency said security patrols would continue operating across the state and locals traveling at night would need to carry identification documents, while BBC Monitoring reported security sweeps across greater Khartoum targeting alleged RSF sleeper cells, undocumented foreigners and criminals involved in illegal activities.
The BBC reported that Altayeb Saadeldin’s electricity-sector allegations were met with denial from an RSF source, which responded that the claims were “incorrect and army propaganda”.
Chad’s accusation added another layer of regional tension, with the BBC saying Chad accused the Sudanese army of carrying out an air strike that hit a military convoy in Ennedi-Est province, about 100km (62 miles) inside Chadian territory, on 20 August.
Sudan rejected the charge, and the BBC quoted the foreign ministry saying it “affirms that the Sudanese army fulfils its constitutional duty to defend Sudan’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”.
The BBC also reported that the US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, expressed “deep concern” about the risk of Sudan’s war threatening regional peace and stability and urged the parties to accept a humanitarian truce.
War’s spillover and next steps
The BBC said the war’s spillover risk has intensified, noting “mounting evidence that the war is spilling across Sudan's borders” as clashes continue in the south and west.
“"unfairly equates the recognised national military with a paramilitary force"”
It reported that the US envoy presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to extend a 2005 weapons embargo on Darfur across the entire country and include a ban on attack drones, while Sudan’s government and army rejected the proposal.
In the BBC’s account of the dispute, local media reports said officials argue the measure “unfairly equates the recognised national military with a paramilitary force” and restricts its ability to defend citizens against an insurgency.
Separately, an Anadolu Agency report carried by African outlets described a drone strike in Sudan’s North Kordofan, where a Sudanese rights group said eight civilians were killed and dozens injured in the Um Sharu area of Sodari locality, and that the drone returned and targeted civilians again as they attempted to evacuate the wounded.
The rights group said the attack constituted “a violation of international humanitarian law” and could amount to a war crime, while it also said there was no military presence in the area and no armed clashes were taking place at the time.