Omdurman Attacks: “The Death Throes of a Slaughtered Beast”
By Dr. Osama Mohammed Abdulrahim
Since the outbreak of the war ignited by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in April 2023, and after more than two years of conflict, the full contours of the militia’s collapse have become clear. The group has lost the initiative, exposing itself day after day as nothing more than a destructive tool in the hands of foreign actors, executing their agendas at the expense of Sudanese blood, security, and stability. Mass killings, systematic violations, rape, forced displacement, and the destruction of cities and villages have all marked its bloody record. Today, it resurfaces through the so-called “Foundation Government,” announced from Nyala with direct support from corrupt political actors who provide it with a political cover—making them complicit in every atrocity committed.
At dawn today, the city of Omdurman, along with several areas in Khartoum and Bahri, came under a series of drone attacks. More than ten drones were spotted in the skies over the capital, targeting the city’s power stations. This criminal act constitutes a direct assault on civilians and cannot be classified under the concept of “military objectives.” It is, instead, a deliberate attack on civilian infrastructure and public services—a clear violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions—amounting to yet another war crime to be added to the RSF’s record, along with those who support it.
The militia appears to have had multiple objectives behind these attacks, which carry several implications:
Negotiation leverage. The RSF is seeking to inflate its field presence for political gain. Though strategically ineffective, such operations are used as bargaining chips in ongoing or expected negotiations. Having lost territory and morale, the RSF seeks to create illusions of strength through media-driven strikes, portraying them as “victories” to regional and international mediators. These attacks on civilian infrastructure, while militarily meaningless, serve as propaganda to project an image of relevance at the negotiating table.
Preventing the return of displaced residents. In recent weeks, many citizens have begun to return to their homes in parts of Khartoum and Omdurman, challenging the RSF’s failed policy of forced displacement. By targeting power stations in a major city, the militia is attempting to render life unbearable, pushing residents away once more. This is part of a calculated effort to enforce demographic change that serves its long-term political and social objectives.
Obstructing reconstruction. National, regional, and international discourse has increasingly shifted toward rebuilding Sudanese cities as a pathway out of war. The reconstruction of Khartoum directly undermines the RSF’s project of destruction. By striking Omdurman, the militia is sending a message: ruin will continue, and any attempt to rebuild will be met with sabotage. It is, in essence, an attack on hope as much as it is on electricity infrastructure.
A bloody debut for the “Foundation Government.” The timing of the assault coincided with the announcement of this so-called government in Nyala. By tying the birth of this hollow entity to violent strikes, the RSF aimed to present it with a “bloody signature” at its inception—a declaration that it exists only through violence and destruction. This was not merely a military act, but also a political inauguration, revealing the true nature of these entities and those backing them.
Having become synonymous with crimes against humanity, mass rape, looting, and forced displacement, the RSF now seeks through its “Foundation Government” to rebrand itself. Yet this attempt at image rehabilitation merely transfers the militia’s moral corruption onto its political front. This “rebranding” is nothing more than a dirty laundering of crimes that no slogan, chant, or press release can cleanse of blood.
Internally, the militia is plagued by fragmentation—splits, desertions, dwindling resources, and collapsing supply lines. In such conditions, its leaders stage “spectacle operations” to deliver psychological jolts to their fighters. The aim is not military success but psychological reassurance: to convince demoralized troops they can still inflict harm. History shows such desperate tactics are common among defeated armies and militias—acts meant to stave off psychological collapse rather than achieve genuine victory.
This so-called “Foundation Government” is thus nothing more than a direct accomplice to war crimes, offering political cover to the RSF’s actions on the ground. By pairing its political announcement with destructive operations, it bears full responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes—standing before history and law as a partner in the systematic dismantling of the Sudanese state.
What the RSF did today amounts to nothing more than the “death throes of a slaughtered beast”—desperate spasms from a militia gasping under battlefield defeats, overwhelming popular rejection, and internal fragmentation. Every show of force is but a futile attempt to remain visible on the political and media stage.
History will record these attacks as evidence of the RSF’s unraveling. Despite its brutality, the militia has been reduced to confusion and chaos, while Sudan—its army and people—moves steadily toward resolving the conflict and rebuilding the nation on new foundations of freedom, peace, and justice. As for the “Foundation Government,” it is nothing but a flimsy mask for a militia that has lost all legitimacy. Its fate is tied to the militia’s collapse, for no future awaits betrayal and bloodshed, no matter how they are repackaged. The blood of innocents cannot be erased, and justice will remain relentless until the last mask falls.
