Sudan: Army recaptures key town in possible turning point
The Sudanese Army has recaptured a strategic town in the North Darfur region, in what could be major turning point in the bitter civil war.
According to the NorthAfricaPost, the Darfur Joint Forces – former rebel tribesmen fighting on behalf of the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) – seized el-Malha town on January 1st, blocking a key supply route for the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The move could ease the pressure on North Darfur’s capital el-Fasher, which has been under prolonged siege by the RSF, experiencing bombardment and supply blockades.
Though a major offensive in October brought instant success for the SAF in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, progress in North Darfur has been harder to come by, according to acleddata.com.
Only last month the RSF held on to the key logistical base al-Zurug, beating off the SAF and ensuring the continuity of the seven month siege of el-Fasher.
Since the attacks on the regional capital began, more than 700 civilians have been killed and another 1,100 injured, reports ReliefWeb.
Al-Jazeera reported in December that the RSF were closer than ever to taking full control of el-Fasher.
A source from an international NGO said: “We are closer than we have ever been to that scenario, but how close remains anybody’s guess”
“I wake up every day and I think this could be the day.”
The gains made by the RSF since the outbreak of war in April 2023 are so-far quite vast, controlling swathes of towns and cities across the south of Sudan, reports a Wikipedia map.
Densely populated regions of South Darfur and Al Jazirah are mostly under RSF control, while Khartoum state, home to 16 percent of Sudan’s population remains contested.
Much foreign interference has been alleged, with Russian’s Wagner mercenary group accused of assisting the RSF, while Ukrainian special forces officially intervened on the government’s side to counter Moscow’s influence.
The UAE is the foreign player most invested in the war, providing direct support to the RSF, according to the Guardian.
Since 2015, it has exported Sudanese fighters to fight against the Houthis in Yemen, and it is also the biggest importer of Sudan’s gold.
Though the amount of aid remains unclear, the Guardian states that “without its direct and all-around support, the RSF would not have been able to wage war to the same extent.”
NorthAfricaPost, ACLEData.com, ReliefWeb, Al-Jazeera, Wikipedia, Guardian
