Sudan's paramilitary RSF chief says war with army is not over

CAIRO (Reuters) - The leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said on Sunday that his war against the army was not over and his forces would return to Khartoum despite being largely driven out of the capital.

It was Dagalo's first comment since the RSF were pushed back from most parts of Khartoum last week by the army in the latest development in Sudan's devastating two-year-old war.

Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, conceded in an audio message on Telegram that his forces had left the capital last week as the army consolidated its gains.

"It's true that in the past few days there was a withdrawal by forces [from Khartoum] to reposition in Omdurman. This was a tactical decision made by the leadership. It was a collective decision," Dagalo said.

However, he vowed to return to Khartoum "stronger, more powerful and victorious".

His comments came as the army continued to consolidate, taking control on Saturday of a major market in Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city, which had previously been used by the RSF to launch attacks.

The army already controlled most of Omdurman, home to two big military bases. It appears intent on securing the entire capital area, which is made up of the three cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, divided by branches of the River Nile. The RSF still hold some territory in Omdurman.

On Saturday, Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ruled out any reconciliation with the RSF, vowing to crush it.

The war is the result of a power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

The fighting has 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.

(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz, Menna Alaa El-Din and Hatem Maher; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Giles Elgood)