Will Omdurman Battle be the Beginning of RSF Withdrawal from Khartoum?

Sudan Events – Agencies

On the first day of the war in Sudan entering its eleventh month, the Sudanese army achieved progress in the fighting by expanding its forces from the areas under its control in northern Omdurman, to the locations of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)’ deployment in the center of the city and their connection with the Corps of Engineers forces advancing from the south, in a move considered by military experts a shift in the course of the war helps the army expel the RSF from Khartoum, and strengthens its positions in the next round of negotiations.

Omdurman is the largest city in the three Sudanese capital cities, in terms of population, and opens on the borders with the River Nile, Northern, White Nile states, and the Kordofan region. It is also the main artery for supplying the RSF with fighters and weapons from the west of the country, and the most important army weapons headquarters are located there, including Karary Military Base, Wadi Sayedna Air Base, Airborne and Air Defense Forces, Special Security Forces to Combat Terrorism and Trans-Crime, and the Corps of Engineers.

An advisor to the Ministry of Defense says, “The meeting of the Karary army and the engineers on Al-Arda Street in central Omdurman is a major development in the course of the war. About 90% of the city is now under the control of the army after it had controlled the north of the city since the beginning of the war, and it will enhance the army’s spread towards Khartoum and Khartoum North”.

The advisor (who preferred not to be disclosed) explained to Al Jazeera Net that the pockets of the “rebel militia” in Omdurman in the old neighborhoods of Bayt Al-Mal, Abu Rouf and Al-Mulazmen, where the radio and television headquarters are located, have become isolated and besieged on the Nile Strip, and they have no choice but to surrender or die.

He adds that the Corps of Engineers has been almost besieged since the outbreak of fighting, and its communication with the Karary area and the regular supply will release the energy of thousands of fighters present at the Corps headquarters, to open west towards the Umm Baddah neighborhoods and south to clear the Salha area, and even west of Jabal Awliya of “rebels”, as well as crossing the Al-Fitaihab and the White Nile bridges towards Khartoum.

The proof is ecstatic

Hours after the Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Muhammad Osman Al-Hussein, announced “the completion of the first and difficult phase” of the plan to purge Omdurman of the RSF and congratulated his forces on that, the President of the Sovereign Council and Army Commander Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan arrived in Omdurman to the Karary military region. He was accompanied by his deputy in the army, Lieutenant General Shams Al-Din Kabbashi, and the Director-General of the Intelligence Service, Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal.

Al-Burhan seemed ecstatic as he shook hands with the military commanders, and received a report on the progress of operations, congratulating the forces on the progress they had achieved on the ground, 8 days after he visited the front lines in Omdurman.

On his way back from Omdurman to Port Sudan, yesterday, Saturday, Al-Burhan addressed the officers of the 3rd Infantry Division in Shendi, River Nile State, stressing that the battle will continue until “the rebellion and those who helped them are completely defeated.”

Al-Burhan sent a message to the RSF leadership, saying, “We call on you to exercise a voice of reason and leave Khartoum and the states of the Gezira and Darfur…but as long as you kill, plunder and steal, there is no way to talk to you until after the battle ends.”

Citizens celebrated with the army forces in the suburb of Al-Thawra, north of Omdurman, as Karary forces and the Corps of Engineers joined forces. Video clips on social media sites showed hundreds of citizens waving signs of victory, chanting patriotic songs, and hugging the army forces that interacted with them, and some army soldiers shed tears of joy.

The military media also distributed a clip showing the Commander of the Corps of Engineers, Major General Dhafer Omar, being carried on the necks of his soldiers, waving his hands, and repeating with them victory songs and national anthems.

Military transformation

The military expert, retired Major General Mazen Mohammad Ismail, believes that what happened in Omdurman is an important military transformation, which will be the beginning of the expulsion of the RSF from the capital after they were besieged on isolated islands, as is happening to them at the radio and television headquarters and the Republican Palace.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, the expert said, “The road has become clear to supply, strengthen, and replace army forces in their various units in Khartoum, which will increase pressure on the RSF elements and push them to withdraw randomly, increase their differences, and lead to a split in their ranks, and this will apply to their presence in the states of Darfur and Kordofan.”

Mazen adds that the new transformation will have a negative impact on the RSF in Gezira State in the center of the country, as it will lose its lifeline linked to Khartoum, and its threat to other states will decrease. Such as: Sinnar, Gedaref, and the River Nile. This will be accompanied by the social incubators’ disavowal of support for the Forces Commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti,” as well as the external forces that support him.

The expert concludes that Al-Burhan’s visit to Omdurman and his recent position leads to the belief that he and his companions have resolved to lead his people to victory, instead of a settlement or deal with “Hemedti” that will return him to the political and military scene, as was leaked from secret negotiations that took place in Bahrain recently between the two men’s deputies.

Back and forth

On the other hand, the RSF denied that the army had made progress, and in a statement, the media office of those forces accused the army of turning to what it called “propaganda while it is on the verge of defeat.”

A RSF official told Al Jazeera Net, “War is back and forth, war is battles, and you may win a battle or you may lose it,” stressing that they have not lost the war, and they still control 90% of Khartoum State.

For his part, political researcher Khaled Abdul Azim expected an escalation in military confrontations in the coming days to improve the negotiating positions of both parties to the conflict, before calling for a new round of negotiations through the Jeddah Platform sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United States, after all previous rounds were preceded by similar military movements.

The researcher did not rule out – in a statement to Al Jazeera Net – that the RSF would launch a suicide operation to respond to the army’s advance in Omdurman, and to confirm that they are still capable of changing the military equation in their favor, after their attacks stopped since they took control of Wad Medani, the capital of Gezira State, in mid-December.

Member of the Sovereign Council and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Shams Al-Din Kabbashi, said before the officers of the 18th Army Division in Kosti, White Nile State, last Thursday, that “the armed forces are moving forward at a steady pace to end this rebellion and expel it once and for all, and at the same time hold an olive branch next to the gun for those who want peace” .

Kabbashi stressed that the RSF eviction from the homes of citizens, civilian objects, and public and private government and service institutions is the basic condition for the resumption of negotiations, and he stressed that no political dossier should be opened before the military dossier is closed.