The Noise Around El-Obeid: A Smokescreen for Military Buildup in Northern Sudan
According to this text, field reports and analyses of the situation in Sudan suggest that the unprecedented media escalation surrounding the city of El-Obeid is merely “manufactured noise” intended to conceal what it describes as a “suspicious silence” on other fronts, particularly in North Kordofan State. The article argues that the coordinated media campaign conducted by the Sudanese military’s media apparatus, in cooperation with Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups, is not intended to protect civilians as claimed but rather constitutes a classic operation of “strategic deception.” In this narrative, El-Obeid serves as a “media decoy,” while military preparations allegedly continue in Jabra al-Sheikh and Rahad al-Nuba.
The Mechanism of Disinformation: Building a Narrative in Advance
The article contends that this media strategy relies on the principle of “pre-emptive accusation” to justify future military actions. By repeatedly promoting the notion of an “imminent attack” on El-Obeid, the opposing side is alleged to be shaping both domestic and international public opinion in advance, portraying the Ta’sis Forces and the countries supporting them as aggressors before any military action has occurred. According to the text, this pre-emptive narrative serves as psychological and political preparation designed to legitimize any military escalation by the Sudanese Armed Forces while placing responsibility for any humanitarian deterioration on their opponents. The article characterizes this as an attempt to reverse reality by presenting the alleged perpetrator as a future victim while turning the civilians trapped inside the city into instruments within the conflict.
Shifting the Focus: Where Is North Kordofan?
The article argues that while cameras and journalists are deliberately focused on El-Obeid, tanks and heavy military equipment are allegedly being deployed elsewhere, far from public attention. According to the authors, the timing of this media campaign coincides precisely with significant troop concentrations and logistical preparations in North Kordofan, particularly around Jabra al-Sheikh and Rahad al-Nuba. The exclusive attention devoted to El-Obeid is presented as an effort to remove North Kordofan from the media spotlight. The military is alleged to recognize that any large-scale operation in Jabra al-Sheikh or Rahad al-Nuba could attract international criticism if conducted under close media scrutiny. Consequently, the article argues that a “crisis diversion” strategy is being employed to occupy international attention elsewhere. By focusing global concern on what the authors describe as a manufactured humanitarian crisis in El-Obeid, the military would allegedly obtain the political and operational space required to pursue its plans in the north without significant international oversight.
A Stark Contradiction: Protection or Siege?
According to the article, the greatest inconsistency lies in the gap between official rhetoric and actual practice. It questions how a force claiming to prepare for the defense of El-Obeid against an anticipated attack can simultaneously seal the city’s exits and prevent civilians from leaving. If humanitarian considerations were genuinely the priority, the article argues, the military’s first objective would be to establish safe evacuation routes rather than confining civilians inside the city. The numerous checkpoints restricting civilian movement are presented as evidence that El-Obeid is allegedly being used as a bargaining tool rather than as a community requiring protection. According to the text, this tight closure serves two objectives: first, using civilians as human shields to protect military movements, and second, ensuring that the humanitarian suffering inside the city continues to provide material supporting the pre-emptive media narrative.
The article concludes by asserting that what is taking place constitutes a deliberate form of “crisis engineering” intended to mislead public opinion. According to the authors, diverting attention away from Jabra al-Sheikh and Rahad al-Nuba does not alter the military realities on the ground. They argue that strategic observers understand that “the real battle” is being prepared in northern Sudan while the “media performance” unfolds in El-Obeid. The Ta’sis Forces state that their primary focus remains the protection of civilians throughout Sudan and declare that they will not be deceived by what they describe as media manipulation. They call upon the international community and independent media organizations to avoid being drawn into what they characterize as this media trap and instead direct their attention toward North Kordofan, particularly Jabra al-Sheikh and Rahad al-Nuba, where, according to the article, the actual military operations are being prepared. The text concludes by stating that “the silence in the north is the sound of preparations for war, not the sound of peace.”
