What’s Behind the Sudanese Army’s Recent Victories Over the Rapid Support Forces?

Report by Fath Al-Rahman Shabarqa

The commander of Khartoum operations in the Sudanese army, Major General Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Al-Bilawi, stated that “the recent battles have broken the backbone of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital, Khartoum.”

In an exclusive statement to Al Jazeera Net, Al-Bilawi predicted the imminent collapse of the RSF, saying, “It is expected that the militia will soon crumble. The constant pressure has destabilized the enemy and undermined its ability to fight — this is clearly our strategy.”

Major General Al-Bilawi, who oversaw the battles to liberate the Republican Palace in central Khartoum, attributed the Sudanese army’s consistent victories to effective planning and the leadership’s strong determination to crush and destroy the enemy, ensuring security and stability for the Sudanese people throughout the country.

Latest Developments

Regarding the latest battlefield developments between the army and the RSF, Al-Bilawi revealed that the army had seized control of new strategic locations in central Khartoum on Sunday, including:

• Al-Salam Tower
• Al-Baraka Tower
• Arak Hotel
• Al-Waha Mall
• The Tax Towers
• The Gold Building

This development comes a day after the Sudanese army announced it had taken control of key sites in the capital, including the Central Bank and the General Intelligence headquarters, while also advancing in the Al-Muqrin area following its successful recapture of the Republican Palace from the RSF.

Eight Key Factors Behind the Victories

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Sudanese army Brigadier General Omar Abd al-Rahman Bashari outlined eight key factors behind the army’s resilience and consecutive victories over the RSF across various battlefronts:

1. Strategic Planning: Effective management of a large-scale battlefield with resources exceeding the capacity of many regional armies.
2. RSF’s Strategic Mistake: Targeting Sudanese civilians, which united the internal front and provided the armed forces with strong popular support.
3. “Dignity War” Narrative: Naming the conflict “The War of Dignity” resonated deeply with ordinary Sudanese citizens.
4. RSF’s Poor War Strategy: The RSF’s reliance on massive human waves and heavy firepower inflicted substantial casualties and equipment losses.
5. Urban Warfare Tactics: The army’s use of bypassing, encircling, and outflanking tactics forced the RSF to abandon fortified positions.
6. Courage and Sacrifice: The Sudanese army demonstrated bravery and a willingness to sacrifice, with many senior and junior officers being killed or wounded in action.
7. Lack of RSF Leadership: The RSF suffered from weak on-the-ground leadership, with the army’s commander-in-chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, remaining on the battlefield while RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) remained largely absent.
8. Tribal Dimension: The RSF’s reliance on a tribal support base, particularly from the “Atawiya State” coalition of three major tribes, alienated other Sudanese communities and led to ethnic targeting in Darfur, including the massacre of the Masalit tribe and the assassination of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abkar.

Cutting Off Supply Lines

A military expert closely following battlefield developments told Al Jazeera Net that the shift in the balance of power in favor of the Sudanese army stems from several key strategic advantages, including:

• Careful operational planning at all levels.
• Effective command and control, with the deployment of leadership centers across battlefronts.
• Secure and flexible communications.
• The element of surprise through unpredictable operations.
• Successful efforts to cut off the RSF’s supply lines and surround its positions.

According to the expert, these victories have left the RSF with only two options: collapse or surrender. The RSF has already lost the majority of its forces through death or desertion, and most of its military hardware and strongholds, including key positions in Jabal Moya, bridges, and high-rise buildings in central Khartoum, have been destroyed or seized.

The Final Phase

The RSF has not achieved any significant victories since the Sudanese army began its string of successes last September, which included retaking key areas in Sennar, Al-Jazira, and the three cities of the capital: Khartoum, Bahri, and Omdurman, as well as parts of Kordofan and its fierce defense of El Fasher, the capital of Darfur.

On Saturday, Sudanese army spokesman Nabil Abdullah announced that the army had seized the Central Bank headquarters, Zain Tower, Sahel and Sahara Bank, and Al-Ta’awun Tower in the Al-Muqrin district of Khartoum.

Abdullah added that the army had inflicted heavy casualties on the RSF in the past 24 hours, killing hundreds of fighters as they attempted to escape through pockets in central Khartoum.

The military expert stated that the Sudanese army’s victories have shattered the RSF’s strength, causing more than 100,000 casualties and leaving the militia incapable of regaining its former position. The RSF’s growing desperation has led it to rely on drone strikes against northern Sudan and artillery attacks on civilians in El Fasher, Al-Obeid, and parts of Omdurman.

While some observers believe the army’s victories could signal the end of the RSF soon — with expectations that the army might fully secure Khartoum before the upcoming Eid al-Fitr — others remain skeptical, pointing to the RSF’s continued presence in parts of Omdurman and eastern and southern Khartoum.

(Source: Al Jazeera Net)