Dagalo’s Militia—The Trail Is Lost in the Water!!

By Mahjoub Fadl Badri

A tracker is a skilled individual in the art of following traces—a profession indispensable to the police, even in the era of advanced forensic technologies. The tracker relies on his deep knowledge of the area’s geography and wildlife. He can distinguish between the footprints of cows and camels, cats and dogs, sheep and goats, and whether animals are burdened with loads or not. He discerns a man’s footsteps from a woman’s, and whether the person was walking or running. He factors in wind patterns and seasonal changes—be it summer, winter, or autumn.

But the greatest challenge a tracker faces is water. If the trail leads to a river, a stream, or a canal, he can go no further. At that point, he says to his companions: “The trail is lost in the water!”

On that note, we can rightly say that Dagalo’s militia has lost the trail in the water. When the fugitive buffoon and looting architect, Abdelrahim Dagalo, told his remaining thugs in some remote location: “We were wrong, we didn’t even know where the battlefield was!” And then he answered himself: “The battlefield is in Northern and River Nile states!”

A commander with the rank of First Lieutenant General—regardless of the legitimacy of the unit he’s second in command of—how did he even acquire the qualifications for such a rank? When did war become something managed haphazardly? What about military planning in times of peace? In times of war? What law governs the conduct and movement of soldiers and officers? Who’s responsible for logistics, their provision, preservation, and distribution?

Let’s not even talk about training, organization, discipline, and command structure. Let’s skip over all these basics! What does this clown say about the material, human, and moral losses suffered because of the very mistake he publicly admitted—two years into a war that has claimed the lives of his thugs across Khartoum, Gezira, Sennar, White Nile, Blue Nile, Kordofan, and Darfur? A war that left devastating destruction to their equipment and vehicles, dragged their reputation through the mud both locally and globally, and erased any possible public sympathy the militia might have once had.

And after all that, he casually says: “We were wrong. We didn’t know where the battlefield was.”

The looting mastermind then threatens to unleash a million troops on Northern and River Nile states. What nonsense! (Note: take care not to replace the hamza with a ra’—hence this clarification.)

Faced with such absurdity, we can only say: “The trail is lost in the water.”

Victory to our valiant army.

Glory and might to our fighting people.

Shame and disgrace to our enemies and traitors.

Victory is only from God.

And God is Greatest—and may the eyes of cowards never rest.

(Originally published on “Al-Muhaqiq”)