A New York Times reporter and photographer were the first Western journalists to visit central Khartoum since the civil war broke out two years ago. The scale of how much has been lost was inescapable.

Sudan’s army has reclaimed the Presidential Palace in the capital, Khartoum, in a significant victory over a rampaging militia that controls swaths of the war-torn country.

After weeks of fighting, paramilitary fighters have been forced from their last remaining holdout in Khartoum.