KHARTOUM — Sudan's army has launched a major offensive against the powerful paramilitary group it is fighting in the country's civil war, targeting areas in the capital it lost at the start of the conflict.

In dawn strikes on Thursday, government forces shelled Rapid Support Forces (RSF) bases in the capital Khartoum, and Bahri to its north.

Sudan has been embroiled in a war since the army and the RSF began a vicious struggle for power in April 2023, leading to what the UN has called one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Up to 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict while more than 10 million people - about a fifth of the population - have been forced from their homes.

Witnesses reported intense aerial bombardments and heavy fighting on Thursday as army troops crossed two key bridges over the River Nile - which had separated government-controlled areas in Omdurman from the regions controlled by the RSF.

Since early in the war, the paramilitaries have been in control of nearly all of the capital.

Thursday's advances appear to be the government's first significant push in months to regain some territory.

The offensive comes just before army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is set to address the UN General Assembly in New York later on Thursday.

The UN has called for "immediate" action to protect civilians and end the fighting.

Much of the worst and most intense fighting has taken place in heavily populated regions. Both sides have accused each other of indiscriminately bombing civilian areas.

"Relentless hostilities across the country have brought misery to millions of civilians, triggering the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis," warned the UN on Wednesday.

It noted that half of the 10 million people who had fled their homes were children, while at least two million have sought protection in neighboring countries.

It also called Sudan "the world's largest hunger crisis". There are fears of widespread famine as people have not been able to grow any crops.

There have also been warnings of a possible genocide against non-Arabs in the western region of Darfur.

A cholera epidemic is also raging throughout the country- more than 430 people have died from the easily-treatable disease in the past month, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

But getting treatment to those affected areas is hugely complicated by the conflict. — BBC