{"id":39717,"date":"2024-12-30T05:02:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T02:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=39717"},"modified":"2024-12-30T05:02:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T02:02:17","slug":"a-mysterious-beast-expands-in-the-darfur-desert-shifting-the-balance-of-military-power-has-the-hour-of-resolution-arrived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/30\/a-mysterious-beast-expands-in-the-darfur-desert-shifting-the-balance-of-military-power-has-the-hour-of-resolution-arrived\/","title":{"rendered":"A Mysterious Beast Expands in the Darfur Desert, Shifting the Balance of Military Power\u2026 Has the Hour of Resolution Arrived?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Report by Azmi Abdelraziq<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Leaning against a burned-out four-wheel-drive vehicle at the recently captured Zarq Operational Base, Commander Munir Hamid of the Desert Axis offers a prayer of gratitude. He has secured new ground and dealt a crushing blow to the militia in a battle described as fierce. This victory disrupts a critical supply chain used to launch attacks on Al-Fashir for nearly a year.<\/div>\n
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The Road to Darfur<\/strong><\/div>\n
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The young commander wasn\u2019t solely focused on the battle as he surveyed the spoils of war and rallied his soldiers with a triumphant cry, \u201cMorale is high!\u201d His mind also wandered back to painful memories: the influx of weapons and mercenaries into his childhood homeland, the displacement of his people, and the fiery devastation of his village during the early days of the conflict. The American director Uwe Boll tried to depict these atrocities in his film \u201cThe Road to Darfur,\u201d which portrayed the massacres committed by the Janjaweed in the region over the decades.<\/div>\n
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On Saturday, social media accounts of armed movement leaders on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook shared posts celebrating the Sudanese people’s progress without revealing many details. They also issued fiery statements mirroring the rhetoric of the joint forces, who have been launching assaults on rebellion strongholds in Geneina, Nyala, and Mellit. This follows the liberation of Wadi Howar, Seraf Umra, Bir Mazza, and Merqi\u2014including its military airbase\u2014as well as major sites like Bir Shila, Donki Majoor, Bir Jibril, and Donki Wakhaim, culminating in the capture of Zarq Base (also known as Base “H-M”).<\/div>\n
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Hands of the Clock Turn Toward Resolution<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Jibril Ibrahim, leader of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement and Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, congratulated the Sudanese people on Facebook, celebrating the joint forces\u2019 victory over what he called \u201cvile militias\u201d in the Dar esh Shakai battle in North Darfur. He stated, \u201cThe militia will not withstand our forces for long after their backbone has been broken and their remnants chased for kilometers. Victory is near, God willing.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Similarly, Darfur Regional Governor Arko Minawi echoed these sentiments, saying, \u201cWe bring good news to our people as the decisive moment approaches. We salute and support our comrades in the joint forces and armed forces in the battlefields of the desert.\u201d He added that they had inflicted unprecedented losses on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in fierce battles. Minawi hinted at an imminent resolution, noting, \u201cNow, we can say the end is near.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Journalist Muammar Ibrahim, reporting from Al-Fashir, observed a noticeable shift in the balance of power in favor of the armed forces and joint forces. He documented attacks on rebel-controlled sites around the city\u2019s southern outskirts and shared images of the besieged city, asserting, \u201cIt will return safe and secure, God willing, like all our beloved towns.\u201d<\/div>\n
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This past week, the joint forces engaged in several battles, including one in Dar esh Shakai and Jabal Isa. They destroyed three RSF convoys en route to attack Malha locality. In these operations, the forces seized various weapons and combat vehicles, adding to the spoils from Zarq Base. The RSF sustained significant losses, including the deaths of senior commanders like Ali Yaqoub, Abdel Rahman Shata, Brigadier Khala Jumaa Idris, and, most notably, Taha Madlal, a close associate of Hemedti\u2019s family.<\/div>\n
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Defections Within the Rebellion<\/strong><\/div>\n
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The RSF suffered additional blows due to high-profile defections. Major General Salah Abdelshafi, Inspector General of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour, joined the Sudanese Armed Forces unconditionally. Furthermore, a contingent of RSF soldiers surrendered and aligned with the military in Al-Fashir. Additionally, General Ali Adam Yahya (known as Jamous) defected from forces loyal to Al-Tahir Hajar, aligning instead with the armed forces.<\/div>\n
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Journalist Muzammil Abu Al-Qasim described Jamous\u2019s defection as a severe blow to the RSF and their ally Al-Tahir Hajar. According to him, Jamous\u2019s troops, previously stationed in South Darfur, moved north to secure areas south of Al-Fashir, including Manwashi, the Al-Fashir-Nyala road, and Abu Zureiga. These developments further tighten the noose on the RSF in North Darfur.<\/div>\n
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Desert Beast and the Government-in-Exile<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Military analysts suggest that the emergence of a highly mobile force\u2014dubbed \u201cthe roaming force\u201d\u2014has shifted the military dynamics. This unit, developed by the joint forces, operates with unprecedented agility, launching swift and precise ground assaults on RSF positions in the desert. It disrupts foreign supply chains, destroys logistical hubs, and retreats to prepare for new missions. Experts argue that by crippling the RSF\u2019s logistical depth, the joint forces have achieved \u201chalf the victory\u201d in Darfur, leaving the RSF chasing shadows.<\/div>\n
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The RSF\u2019s operational command has been thrown into disarray, with their strategies compromised both domestically and abroad. The rise of the desert force\u2014unpredictable in its movements and devastating in its attacks\u2014has forced the RSF to withdraw troops from other regions to confront this elusive adversary. The force appears and vanishes like a desert phantom, thwarting attempts to establish a government-in-exile in Darfur. This scenario has left the RSF\u2019s allies grappling with setbacks.<\/div>\n
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Toward Resolution<\/strong><\/div>\n
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With the UAE expressing interest in Turkish-mediated negotiations between Sudan and the RSF, and with the armed forces transitioning from defense to offense, the stage seems set for a decisive outcome. As Jibril and Minawi hinted, the hour of resolution may indeed be at hand.<\/div>\n
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Source: Al-Muhaqqiq<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Report by Azmi Abdelraziq Leaning against a burned-out four-wheel-drive vehicle at the recently captured Zarq Operational Base, Commander Munir Hamid of the Desert Axis offers a prayer of gratitude. He has secured new ground and dealt a crushing blow to the militia in a battle described as fierce. This victory disrupts a critical supply chain …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39717"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39719,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39717\/revisions\/39719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}