Increasingly, the pace of confrontations between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in the city of Omdurman increased, and with it the state of fallacies and controversy over the map of control increased.
The army says that it is “close to expelling the rebel militia members,” while the Rapid Support Forces confirm that it is “extending its control over important and vital neighborhoods and sites in the city.”
The historic city, which is separated by the Nile River from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, witnessed clashes between the two sides, with communications and Internet services continuing to be interrupted since February 6.
In the latest development on the ground, the army announced that its force moved from the Karari military area, was able to reach the Corps of Engineers area, and brought food and military supplies to the forces there, for the first time in 10 months.
The researcher in Sudanese military studies, Abdel Moneim Khalaf Allah, points out that “the entry of Sudanese army forces into the Corps of Engineers area proves that the army changed its defense-based strategy and turned to attack, and that it has become more dominant and widespread in the neighborhoods of the city of Omdurman.”
Khalaf Allah told Al-Hurra website, “The army was able to break the siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on the Corps of Engineers, which quickly affected the equation and map of field control.”
He added, “The army was able to extend its control over a number of neighborhoods east of Omdurman, especially the strategic Abu Rouf neighborhood, which was under the control of the Rapid Support.”
Omdurman is classified as a third side of the triangular Sudanese capital, consisting of Khartoum, Khartoum Bahri, and Omdurman.
It surpasses Khartoum in historical importance, because it was the capital of the Mahdist state that ruled Sudan at the end of the nineteenth century, and it also witnessed the birth of liberation movements from British colonialism.
In turn, the advisor to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Imran Abdullah, downplayed the arrival of an army force from the Karari military region to the headquarters of the Corps of Engineers, and the delivery of supplies for the first time in months, and pointed out that “this demonstrates the superiority of the Rapid Support, and not the opposite.”
Abdullah told Al-Hurra website, “The siege is still being imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on the Corps of Engineers headquarters. We are expected to announce control over it at any moment, especially after the increase in the force in charge of the siege.”
He pointed out that “the Rapid Support Forces still control most of the neighborhoods and regions of Omdurman, and that army members are sneaking into some locations, filming video clips and broadcasting them later, as part of war propaganda.”
The army controls the “Wadi Sayyidna” area, which is located north of Omdurman, and is considered one of the most important military bases, as it includes the Air Force Command, and its importance has increased with the outbreak of the current battles in Sudan.
The Army Air Force played a pivotal role in the ongoing combat operations, as it intensified its air sorties against Rapid Support Forces positions since the first hours of the outbreak of fighting on April 15, 2023.
Since the outbreak of fighting, the Rapid Support Forces have been trying to cross the Halfaya Bridge from the Khartoum Bahri district (east of the Nile), to reach the “Wadi Saydna” military area in Omdurman (west of the Nile), but the military arsenal deployed by the army has made the task difficult.
Recently, the Rapid Support Forces have been using long-range missile launchers to bomb the “Wadi Saydna” military area, as its spokesman announced in multiple statements that the missiles caused the destruction of aircraft and the killing of a number of army officers and soldiers at that base, he says.
What’s going on at the radio headquarters?
Since the first day of the war, the Rapid Support Forces took control of the headquarters of the Sudanese Radio and Television, located in Omdurman, and spread in a number of neighborhoods in the city. They also carried out multiple attempts to seize the headquarters of the Corps of Engineers, located south of the city.
On the other hand, the army carries out air sorties, through the Air Force, on the vicinity of the radio station to force the Rapid Support Forces to withdraw from it. Recently, the army began carrying out a ground operation to restore the radio and television headquarters located on the west bank of the Nile River.
Khalaf Allah believes, “The army deals with the issue of storming the radio and television headquarters with extreme caution, for considerations related to history and humanity, and because radio is considered the memory of the Sudanese people, and cannon fire can turn all that history into ashes.”
He pointed out that “the army takes into account the large numbers of civilians and prisoners held by the Rapid Support Forces at the radio headquarters, and uses them as human shields, and works to spare them from the danger of an ill-advised intrusion.”
He added, “Now the army is imposing a tight siege on the radio and television headquarters, and it is expected that the headquarters will be restored at any moment, especially after large numbers of Rapid Support militants fled to Khartoum via the Nile River, taking advantage of sailboats and other things.”
On Wednesday, it was widely reported that the Sudanese army regained control of the radio and television headquarters. This is information about which the absence of communications and the Internet contributed to further controversy, but the advisor to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces confirmed that “their control over the headquarters continues.”
He said, “The Rapid Support Forces are present at the radio headquarters and the neighborhoods surrounding it, and what is rumored about the army taking control of them is not true, and will not be. As for talk about human shields on the radio, it is a lie that is told on all sites.”
Media professor at Sudanese universities, Murtada Abu Zeid, attributed the conflicting news about the course of the battles in Omdurman to the absence of communications, and to both sides of the fighting betting on the rumor, as one of the means of psychological warfare.
Abu Zaid told Al-Hurra website, “The nature of urban warfare makes it impossible to assert actual control over the land, because the bases that the two sides set up are often temporary, and are removed either under the pressure of battles, or due to the desire to expand further towards the other party’s positions.”
The media professor warned of the danger of fighting inside or around the radio and television headquarters, and said that this “will expose the country’s history to damage, because the radio and television headquarters includes the largest libraries and contains most of the Sudanese audiovisual heritage.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, the information we receive indicates that the Rapid Support Forces destroyed much of the contents, turned the headquarters into combat trenches, and tampered with the studios and parts of the library.”
He pointed out that “the fighting approached the historical sites of Al-Tawabi, which are among the archaeological monuments in Omdurman.”
In 1896, the rulers of the Mahdist state in Sudan built a group of towabi (castles) of brick and clay, along the west bank of the Nile River, and used them as combat fortresses as part of war plans to confront the colonial forces.
In turn, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate warned in a statement that “the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support, in the radio and television buildings, would destroy an archive that is close to a hundred years old, and represents the political, cultural and social heritage of the Sudanese nation.”
Fire in the “House of Money”
The renewed confrontations in Omdurman between the army and the Rapid Support extended to the “Beit al-Mal” area, as the army indicated that it had “extended its control over the area,” and also broadcast video clips showing its forces in the neighborhood, as a new field development.
In the “Bait Al-Mal” area is the headquarters of the Sufi cleric, Al-Amin Omar Al-Amin, which was transformed into a headquarters to shelter those who fled the fires of war, and provide them with food and treatment, after Al-Amin established a field clinic to treat war-wounded civilians.
In multiple video clips, Sudanese army officers accused the Sufi cleric of being loyal to the Rapid Support Forces, which sparked a wave of criticism of the man from the army’s supporters, as prominent politicians and well-known media figures incited the need to hold him accountable on charges of “cooperating with the rebel militia.”
The Sudanese Emergency Lawyers Committee confirmed that an army force took the cleric, who takes an approach that combines Sufism and modernity, to an unknown destination, while video clips showed the process of being taken away.
Committee member, Amin Salah, in an interview with Al-Hurra website, called for “the necessity of releasing Sheikh Al-Amin, and not exposing him to any danger, because he is a civilian who chose to help the people of the neighborhood in which he lives, when others chose to flee and abandon their responsibilities towards the citizens.”
Salah pointed out that “Sheikh Al-Amin fell victim to the hostile campaign against him by Sudanese army officers, politicians, journalists, and social media activists.”
Secretary Omar Al-Amin has relations with the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Muhammad Hamdan “Hemedti,” and the two parties exchange announced visits. While a number of Rapid Support leaders recorded visits to the Sufi cleric during the current war, which intensified the criticism directed at him.
According to the researcher in Sudanese military affairs, “Al-Amin played a carefully planned role to wash the image of the Rapid Support Militia in people’s minds, especially after the widespread violations it was involved in against citizens.”
The researcher pointed out, “Al-Amin tried to beautify the militia’s image by receiving its leaders, and making people believe that they were coming to him to deliver aid and food supplies to the needy, even though the militia itself is suffering from a food crisis, and is looting shops to provide food for its members.”
In turn, the advisor to the Rapid Support Commander denied the existence of any relationship between the Sufi cleric and the Rapid Support Forces, and held the army leadership “responsible for his safety, and demanded that civilians not be involved in the conflict.”
Renewed confrontations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman increased citizens’ suffering in obtaining food and treatment, according to emergency rooms in some neighborhoods of the city.
Community activist, Mounir Al-Tayeb, told Al-Hurra website, “The army arrived in areas that were completely under the control of the Rapid Support, and approached the vicinity of the radio and television, amid escalating confrontations.”
Al-Tayeb, who was active in the emergency rooms of the Abu Ruf neighborhood, before he recently fled to one of the refugee camps in Kenya, pointed out that “the news you are getting is that the state of terror has returned to citizens to more violent degrees than what was previously the case, and that basic goods “It is experiencing extreme scarcity, with a significant increase in prices.”
The community activist pointed out that “renewed confrontations led to the closure of the health centers that were providing primary medical services, again, after the medical and health personnel feared for their personal safety.”
Emergency rooms, which are youth initiatives formed after the outbreak of war to provide services to citizens, are calling on both sides of the fighting to allow foreign aid to enter those affected by the conflict, especially as the humanitarian situation worsens.
Human rights organizations have been warning for months that the specter of famine looms in Sudan, as a result of obstructing the arrival of humanitarian aid and a severe lack of funding.
Last week, the United Nations World Food Program revealed that 95 percent of Sudanese cannot afford a full meal a day.
According to United Nations figures, the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support led to the deaths of more than 12,000 people, and forced more than 7 million to flee their homes, including 1.5 million who took refuge in Chad, Egypt, Central Africa, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.
On February 7, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched an appeal to provide international support worth $4.1 billion to civilians trapped in Sudan.
UN agencies said that half of Sudan’s population, or about 25 million people, needs support and protection, and that the required funds will be allocated to help millions of civilians in Sudan and others who have fled abroad.
