Battle for the Blue Nile Region to Determine the Course of the Sudanese War
Rapid Support Forces' control of the region will tighten the noose on several cities and the main military divisions of the Sudanese army
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are moving towards taking control of the Blue Nile region after securing several strategic areas in Sennar State, southeast Sudan. This move is expected to tighten the noose on several cities and the main military divisions of the army.
Mak Ubaid Abu Shotal, a leader in the RSF, told Radio Dabanga on Tuesday that the Blue Nile region is the next target of their military movements, confirming their continued control over Sinja, Dinder, and Abu Hajar.
The RSF took control of the city of Dinder in Sennar State on Tuesday without any resistance from the army, according to Sudanese media citing eyewitnesses.
Dinder is located 400 kilometers southeast of the capital Khartoum and is within the vicinity of the Dinder Nature Reserve, which covers an area of about ten thousand square kilometers. It is classified as the largest nature reserve in Africa, home to more than forty species of animals and 260 species of birds. The reserve is also located on the Sudan-Ethiopia border.
With the fall of Dinder, and previously the city of Souki on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile, the city of Sinja, the capital of Sennar State, the area of Jabal Moya, which connects four key states in central and western Sudan, and the city of Al-Damazin, located 100 kilometers from the Ethiopian border, the likelihood of more cities falling into the hands of the RSF increases, raising fears of a large-scale displacement of people.
Observers believe that the RSF’s control over these areas will tighten the noose on several cities and the main military divisions of the army in Sennar and the neighboring Blue Nile State, which would mean controlling the triangle that includes the cities of Al-Duwaim, Kosti, and Al-Managil.
They point out that whoever controls this area will be able to cut off supplies to the other party. The military leaders of the RSF and the army know that losing this axis means cutting off supplies to Khartoum, Wad Medani, and Sennar. This will also facilitate access to the strategic city of Al-Damazin and its surrounding areas, linking Sudan to South Sudan and Ethiopia, as well as the central line of Sudan, which connects the east and north.
Abu Shotal renewed his warning to the people of the Blue Nile region to stay away from military areas, calling on the wise men and traditional leaders to engage in dialogue with the soldiers of the fourth division to surrender to avoid “the repercussions of the war on civilians,” noting that the Blue Nile region is overcrowded with displaced people.
He urged the residents of Al-Damazin to learn from what happened in Sinja, noting that Al-Damazin is 180 kilometers from the area of Abu Hajar, controlled by the RSF.
He said that the Blue Nile region has suffered greatly from wars and that the RSF does not want to repeat the same suffering.
Following the RSF’s takeover of Sinja, a massive movement of displacement among the citizens began, reaching the neighboring city of Sennar, which has also seen large waves of displacement in recent days.
The resistance committees in Al-Damazin reported last Sunday that the Blue Nile region is experiencing a large wave of displacement due to the recent events in Sinja.
The committees confirmed that the region has received a large number of displaced people, particularly from Sinja, in the governorates of Al-Damazin and Al-Rusairis.
Last Saturday, the RSF announced that they had taken control of the headquarters of the 17th Infantry Division in Sinja, Sennar State, southeast Sudan.
Abu Shotal denied in an interview with Radio Dabanga reports that the army had regained the Jabal Moya area in Sennar State, asserting that the mountain is fully secured. He emphasized that their forces are besieging the city of Sennar from four directions and have closed the road to the Blue Nile region.
Sources close to the army said they had recaptured Jabal Doud, part of the Jabal Moya range, and are continuing their battles around Jabal Moya.
Military experts told Radio Dabanga that the Jabal Moya area, controlled by the RSF last week, is a key strategic area and that whoever controls it can take control of the Sennar and Blue Nile regions. They also noted that it is easy to defend and represents an important junction point to the White Nile State.
Abu Shotal denied accusations against the RSF of committing looting in Sennar State and accused the army of looting innocents in Omdurman.
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Meanwhile, citizens reported consistent accounts of widespread looting in Sinja and Dinder, affecting vehicles and citizens’ properties.
Abu Shotal denied that the army had taken control of the Al-Douha neighborhood in Omdurman, downplaying its strategic importance, and expressed surprise that the army was celebrating the capture of a neighborhood while the RSF controls several states.
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He said that the spread of their forces and their arrival in Sennar State does not affect their control over the states of Khartoum and Al-Jazira, noting that they have enough soldiers to cover all operational areas.
The army stated in a brief statement via its Facebook page on Tuesday that its forces “cleared the Al-Douha area and its surroundings in Omdurman today, seizing and destroying several combat vehicles belonging to the terrorist Al-Dagolo militia, killing several of them.”
