Sudanese Army Challenges the “Rapid Support Forces” with an Attack on El Fasher
Sudan Events – Agencies
The Sudanese army, along with several allied armed groups, has challenged threats made by the “Rapid Support Forces” (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as “Hemeti,” regarding an imminent invasion of El Fasher, the last stronghold of RSF in the Darfur region of western Sudan, within 48 hours.
The Sudanese army stated that the “militias of the Dagalo family” had given fighters in El Fasher a 48-hour ultimatum to surrender or leave, describing the situation as a “helpless escape.”
It added in statements on Facebook: “For our part, we are giving the RSF militias an additional deadline to regain their strength and confront us on the battlefield.”
The Sudanese army denied rumors spread by the RSF regarding the surrender of a group of joint forces, consisting of 139 members and seven combat vehicles, at the Abu Shouk and Al-Salam camps west of El Fasher.
The army confirmed the cohesion of its forces and the groups fighting alongside them from armed movements and popular resistance, stating that they would defeat the RSF if it continued its attack on El Fasher.
The “joint force of armed movements,” which fights alongside the army, stated that “its forces are on high alert to confront any new attempt to approach the city.”
The deadline set by the RSF for all armed fighters to leave El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and surrender their weapons, ensuring their fair treatment and immediate release, ends on Wednesday.
The RSF warned in their “final call” that all forces present in El Fasher must evacuate urgently, ahead of a large-scale attack they are preparing to launch on the city.
The “joint force” said in a statement on Tuesday that “its forces are on high alert and will confront the enemy with strength and decisiveness, without mercy.”
Darfur’s governor (leader of the Sudan Liberation Army), Mini Arko Minnawi, revealed that the “Rapid Support Forces” had received “significant military support from abroad through the Sudan-Libya border.”
The official spokesperson for the “joint force,” Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, said: “El Fasher will remain resistant to invaders and a graveyard for all mercenaries.” He added that the RSF militias had launched more than 170 armed attacks, all of which were crushed at the gates of El Fasher, destroying their hardened forces.
In recent days, the RSF has escalated its attacks in the desert axis, and fierce clashes broke out in open, barren areas near the Malha region in deep North Darfur, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on each other.
The “joint force” confirmed that it had destroyed military convoys of the RSF, totaling over 6,000 military vehicles supported by heavy and light weapons.
In a statement, which “Asharq Al-Awsat” obtained a copy of, the “joint force” said: “These indicators and major victories against the militias confirm that the hour of final resolution is imminent.”
A video recording showed the second-in-command of the RSF, Abdel-Rahim Dagalo, Hemeti’s brother, leading the ongoing battles in the desert axis of Darfur.
