In the latest field development, the Sudanese army announced the entry of its forces into the radio and television headquarters in the city of Omdurman, after the headquarters was under the control of the Rapid Support Forces, which observers considered a shift in the ongoing battles between the two parties.
The Rapid Support Forces took control of the radio and television headquarters in Omdurman, which is separated by the Nile River from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in the first hours of the battles that broke out on April 15.
During the past months, the army carried out a number of attacks using foot soldiers and drones to enter the headquarters, but the fortifications placed by the Rapid Support Forces prevented the success of these attempts, according to specialists.
Recently, the army intensified its military operations in Omdurman, as it announced on February 17 that its force had moved from the Karari military area and 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.
Field development
Military expert, Abdel Azim Al-Tayeb, believes that “the army’s retrieval of the radio and television headquarters effectively means that the city of Omdurman has come under the army’s control to a large degree, and that total control over it is a matter of only a few days.”
Al-Tayeb said in a statement, “Reclaiming the headquarters will raise the morale of the Sudanese army, and will put the Rapid Support Forces in a demoralized state, facilitating the process of attacking other sites under their control.”
He pointed out that “the army’s expansion in Omdurman will pave the way for the expulsion of Rapid Support elements from the sovereign headquarters in central Khartoum, such as the Republican Palace, ministries’ headquarters, and others.”
The military expert explained, “The army’s field superiority in Omdurman is largely due to drones, which effectively contributed to striking the Rapid Support Forces in a number of neighborhoods of the city, causing them to be dispersed between fleeing, withdrawing, and surrendering.”
He noted that “the other factor that affected the course of the battles in Omdurman was that the army changed its defense-based strategy and switched to a ground attack using infantry soldiers.”
Last January, Bloomberg quoted senior Western officials as saying that Iran was supplying the army with drones.
The agency reported, citing three Western officials, that “Sudan received shipments of the Mohajer-6, a single-engine unmanned aircraft manufactured in Iran by Quds Air Industries that carries precision precision-guided munitions.”
The Wall Street Journal reported last August that the UAE is sending weapons to the Rapid Support Forces, and last October it indicated that the “Egyptian military delivered the drones to a military base in Sudan’s north.”
On the other hand, the advisor to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Al-Basha Tabiq, indicated that “the battles are still continuing in the vicinity of the radio and television headquarters,” and noted that “the Rapid Support Forces control 70 percent of the areas and neighborhoods of Omdurman.”
Tabik said, “I cannot confirm that the army has entered the radio, because the confrontations are still continuing, and no official statement has been issued by the Rapid Support Forces on the matter.”
He pointed out that “the field leadership of the Rapid Support Forces is cohesive, and the soldiers have a high level of morale, and there is no truth to the rumors about defections, withdrawals, or surrender.”
Last week, the Sudanese army announced that its forces had taken control of the Wad Nubawi, Beit al-Mal, and Abu Ruf neighborhoods in the city of Omdurman after the Rapid Support Forces had been deployed there during the past months.
Omdurman is classified as a third side of the triangular Sudanese capital, consisting of Khartoum, Khartoum Bahri, and Omdurman.
It is distinguished from 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.
Professor of political science at Sudanese universities, Ezz El-Din Al-Mansour, described the army’s entry into the radio and television headquarters as “limited progress, which does not mean the army takes control of the city completely.”
He expected, at the same time, that this progress would have an impact on military operations in a number of combat axes, and that it would be followed by a new advance by the army in Khartoum.”
Al-Mansour said, “The Rapid Support Forces paid the price for their expansion in states other than Khartoum, especially Al-Jazira State, Sennar State, and White Nile State in central Sudan, which weakened their forces in Omdurman, and put them under army fire.”
He pointed out that “most of the Rapid Support members in Al-Jazira State engaged in widespread looting and robbery against defenseless citizens in the villages, and they looted thousands of cars for their personal benefit.”
He added, “This affected the morale of two sections of their colleagues in other combat hubs, such as Omdurman and others. The first section is those who feel that they are fighting for free, while others from their colleagues receive what they call spoils, for their personal benefit.”
The professor of political science pointed out, “There is another group. They are those who are convinced that they are fighting for a cause, not for spoils. Their morale declined because they felt that their ’cause’ had been sabotaged by the elements involved in looting.”
The Rapid Support Forces extended their control over the city of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State, on December 18, after the army withdrew from the city, which is located 180 kilometers south of Khartoum, before expanding into most of the cities and villages of the state.
The commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” issued a decision assigning the field commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Abu Aqla Kikel, who belongs to Al-Jazira State, as governor of the state, after it was run by a government supportive of the Sudanese army.
On December 19, according to Reuters, the army formed a committee to investigate the circumstances and reasons for the withdrawal of its forces from the city of Wad Madani, but it has not announced the results of the investigation yet.
What then?
The entry of the army into the radio and television headquarters raises questions about the steps that could result from that, especially in the process of the truce called for by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and approved by the Security Council, on the ninth of this March, after a proposal from Britain, as well as about the overall negotiation process.
Here Al-Tayeb says, “The army’s position is clear and declared, that there is no negotiation with the Rapid Support Militia unless it implements the Jeddah Agreement and leaves citizens’ homes and civilian objects.”
He added, “I expect that the Omdurman victories will open the appetite of the army’s leaders and members to work on achieving more victories in other combat axes, and I do not expect that it will lead to reviving the negotiating track.”
On May 11, the army and the Rapid Support Forces signed an agreement in the city of Jeddah, sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United States, which stipulates “protecting civilians, protecting all private and public facilities, and refraining from using them for military purposes.”
For his part, Tabiq points out that “the army has not been able, in 11 months, to recover any military or strategic headquarters seized by the Rapid Support Forces, so its leaders deal with any limited field progress made by their forces with hysterical joy.”
He added, “They are looking for any victory to raise morale, and they can resort to negotiation, claiming that they have achieved a victory, which allows them to negotiate with a higher ceiling.”
In turn, Al-Mansour hoped that the army’s victories in Omdurman would contribute to his delegation’s return to negotiations again, and he expected that “the battles would continue with greater intensity.”
He pointed out that “members of the former regime are actively participating in combat operations alongside the army, and will not allow any step that would revive the talks, because they know that the negotiations will not be in their interest, and will lead to their isolation from any expected political process.”
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 for international support worth $4.1 billion for civilians trapped in Sudan.
UN agencies said that half of Sudan’s population, or about 25 million people, need support and protection and that the required funds will be allocated to help millions of civilians in Sudan, and others who have fled abroad.
