---
title: "Flames destroy landmark tower as Sudan war enters sixth month"
description: "CAIRO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - One of Sudan's main landmarks, a skyscraper that towered over the River Nile and housed the headquarters of a major oil company, has been reduced to a smouldering wreck amid heavy fighting between rival military factions in the capital."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Sudan war"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-09-18-flames-destroy-landmark-tower-as-sudan-war-enters-sixth-month/"
published: "2023-09-18T14:46:25"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 205
---

# Flames destroy landmark tower as Sudan war enters sixth month

> CAIRO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - One of Sudan's main landmarks, a skyscraper that towered over the River Nile and housed the headquarters of a major oil company, has been reduced to a smouldering wreck amid heavy fighting between rival military factions in the capital.

By Reuters · Published 18 September 2023, 16:46 SAST

## Key points
- The symbolic Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company head office, built during an oil boom before South Sudan's independence, has been engulfed in flames amidst clashes between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
- A glass-sided tower in Khartoum was set alight by flames and smoke
- The Rapid Support Forces accused the army of targeting it
- The war between the army and the RSF broke out in mid-April over a political transition plan
- 5 million people have been displaced due to the conflict

## Content

The Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company head office, a glass-sided tower topped with a coil of metal, was built during an oil boom before South Sudan declared independence in 2011, and was one of Sudan's most costly constructions.

Flames and smoke rose from the building in a financial district of Khartoum, close to the confluence of the Blue and White Niles and to areas fought over by Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It is unclear what caused the fire that burned through the tower from Saturday. The RSF accused the army of targeting it along with other important buildings amid efforts to dislodge paramilitary fighters from positions they occupied across the capital early in the conflict.

There was no immediate comment from the army.

The war between the army and the RSF broke out in mid-April when tensions linked to an internationally-backed plan for a political transition boiled over, four years after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown during a popular uprising.

The conflict has caused widespread clashes, looting and shortages of food and medicine in Khartoum and other cities, driving more than 5 million people from their homes.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Andrew Heavens)