Filed to:OnePress
The Sudanese army, with the support of the joint forces and the Popular Resistance Forces, regained control of four main areas in North Kordofan state, namely Bara, Jabra al-Sheikh, Umm Siyala and Umm Qurfa, after heavy battles with the rebel Rapid Support Militia, in a military development described by the General Command of the Armed Forces as “strong and capable.”
The General Command of the Armed Forces announced in a statement issued at dawn on Saturday that its forces and the forces supporting them were able to liberate the four cities after military operations, stressing that the militia suffered great losses in lives and equipment, while the remnants retreated fleeing leaving behind weapons and machinery.
Sites of military and strategic value
Recovered cities have a prominent field importance in the map of the conflict in western Sudan. It is located on a road network linking the city of al-Bayda to the western areas leading to the Darfur region, making control of it an important factor in securing supply lines and limiting the freedom of movement of the militia between the axes of fighting. Jabra al-Sheikh represents a field gate towards the north and west of Kordofan, and control of it contributes to narrowing the margin of maneuver for the militia and enhancing the security of strategic roads linking the states of the center and the province of Kordofan.
combing operations to stabilize control
In the wake of the announcement of the restoration of the four areas, the spokesman of the special forces supporting the army, Mohammed Dedan, said that his forces combed more than 100 villages in the vicinity of Jabra al-Sheikh and Umm Siala, stressing that the operations continue to pursue what he described as “the last strongholds of the militia” on the path of exports. He explained, in a publication, that the combing works are part of the efforts to secure the recovered areas.
According to a military source, the army and supporting forces carried out large-scale sweep operations in the four cities in order to secure them and establish military bases to establish control over them, while soldiers from the army broadcast on Sunday morning pictures and videos documenting the progress of the sweep operations in Jabra al-Sheikh.
Joint Command Statements
For his part, the Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Force, Lieutenant General Juma Haqqir, said that his forces were able to recover the four areas after the implementation of precise military operations, pointing out that the military progress is continuing within a plan to regain control of the remaining areas, and that his forces continue to pursue elements of the retreating militia.
The Governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minawi, commented on the developments by saying that what has been achieved is not the end of the battle, but the beginning of a new phase of decisiveness, stressing that the armed forces, the joint forces and the popular resistance were able “with unrelenting determination and invincible will” to liberate the four areas, following operations described as qualitative and court that confused the ranks of the militia. Minnawi called for a sense of security, referring to the continuation of military operations in the region.
Congratulations from the General Intelligence Service.
The Director General of the General Intelligence Service, General Aman Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mufazzal, and his deputies, officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Service, congratulated the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Commander-in-Chief of the People's Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, his deputy and members of the Council, the Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff and his deputies, and the Sudanese people, on the occasion of the restoration of the four cities.
On this occasion, the agency recalls the values of giving, sacrifice and redemption, stressing that it stands by the army and continues its march to achieve security for the homeland and citizens no matter what the challenges. It also extended congratulations to the heroes of the armed forces and the employees of the apparatus and the regular and joint forces stationed on the battlefields, calling on God to bring peace and security to the country and to accept the martyrs and heal the wounded and release the prisoners.
Context of the conflict
These developments come amid fierce battles between the Sudanese army and its allies on the one hand, and the Rapid Support Militia on the other, for control of the cities of Bara and El Obeid and their surrounding areas, as a strategic hub in the state of North Kordofan. These confrontations continue amid international efforts to impose a humanitarian truce and push for a solution to the Sudanese crisis, which has been ongoing since the outbreak of the war in April 2023.