Sudan's army takes major market as it extends control over capital

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Sudanese army said on Saturday it had 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.

The statement comes days after the Sudanese army declared victory over the RSF in Khartoum, claiming control of most parts of the capital.

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 into famine.

The army said in a 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, which is made up 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.

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, Central African Republic and South Sudan each weathering internal bouts of conflict over recent years.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdulaziz, Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Aidan Lewis)