| Battle of Merowe | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the 2023 Sudan conflict | |||||||
 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sudanese Armed Forces  Egypt |  Rapid Support Forces | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 204 POWs | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Merowe was a military engagement of the 2023 Sudan conflict between RSF and SAF for the control of the city of Merowe and it's airport.
On 11 April 2023, RSF forces deployed near the city of Merowe and in Khartoum. [1] Government forces ordered them to leave, but they refused. This led to clashes when RSF forces took control of the Soba military base south of Khartoum. [1] On 13 April, RSF forces began their mobilization, raising fears of a potential rebellion against the junta. The SAF declared the mobilization illegal. [2]
At noon on April 15, RSF forces claimed to have captured Merowe Airport. [3] In their statement, they claimed to have captured several Egyptian soldiers at the airport as well, along with a plane with markings of the Egyptian Air Force. [4] [5] While initially no official explanation was given for the Egyptian soldiers' presence, Egypt later stated around 200 of their soldiers were conducting exercises with the Sudanese military. [6]
The next day, at around 13:30 local time, the SAF announced the rescue of a major general and a brigadier, along with the arrests of multiple officers at Merowe airport. The SAF also claimed the capture of the airport, with videos showing army vehicles storming the base. [7] The army also claimed several RSF leaders had deserted or surrendered to the SAF. [3] Some RSF members that deserted brought the Egyptian prisoners with them. [3]
Fighting broke out the next day west of Merowe Airport, and by 10:00 AM local time, the RSF claimed to have full control over the airport. [8] [9] On April 18, eyewitnesses reported seeing an RSF column heading away from the perimeter of the airport towards al-Multaqa following SAF airstrikes on the airport. [10] By April 19, the SAF had regained full control over the airport, although it had been destroyed. [11] The RSF still claimed to have a presence in other parts of Merowe. The Sudanese Army gained full control over Merowe by April 21. [12]
The RSF claimed on April 17 to aid in efforts to repatriate the Egyptian prisoners of war. However, the group announced that they had moved the soldiers to Khartoum on April 19 and would hand them over when the "appropriate opportunity" arose. [13] Of the 204 Egyptian troops taken prisoner, 177 were flown back to Egypt that same day. The remaining 27 soldiers sheltered at the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum. [14]
Geneina is a city in West Darfur, part of the dar Masalit region, in Sudan. It joined British Sudan at the end of 1919 through the Gilani Agreement, signed between the Masalit Sultanate and the United Kingdom, according to which it became a territory.
Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North, or SPLM–N, is a political party and militant organisation in the Republic of Sudan, based in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The group's armed forces are formally known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army–North or SPLA–N. As of 2017, its two factions, SPLM-N (Agar) and SPLM-N (al-Hilu) were engaged in fighting each other and against the government of Sudan, and as of 2023, the al-Hilu faction is fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), while the leader of the Agar faction was appointed into the military-run government.
The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was an armed conflict in the Sudanese southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the Sudanese Army (SAF) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a northern affiliate of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Sudan. After some years of relative calm following the 2005 agreement which ended the second Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese government and SPLM rebels, fighting broke out again in the lead-up to South Sudan independence on 9 July 2011, starting in South Kordofan on 5 June and spreading to the neighboring Blue Nile state in September. SPLM-N, splitting from newly independent SPLM, took up arms against the inclusion of the two southern states in Sudan with no popular consultation and against the lack of democratic elections. The conflict is intertwined with the War in Darfur, since in November 2011 SPLM-N established a loose alliance with Darfuri rebels, called Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF).
Yarmouk Military Industrial Complex (YIC), also known as the Yarmouk Munitions Factory, is a military complex located in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The complex was established in 1993 and inaugurated in 1996 with the aim of establishing advanced military industries to meet defence needs in Sudan and contribute to the transfer and localisation of modern technology and benefit from it in the field of defence. It produces rifles, pistols, launcher cannons and tanks such as Al Basheer MBT , Al Zubair 1 MBT, and Al Zubair 2 MBT, as well as Amir IFV and Amir 2 IFV armoured vehicles and self-propelled guns, as well as ammunition of various kinds.
The Rapid Support Forces are paramilitary forces formerly operated by the Government of Sudan. It grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which fought on behalf of the Sudanese government during the War in Darfur, and was responsible for atrocities against civilians. Its actions in Darfur qualify as crimes against humanity according to Human Rights Watch.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman al-Burhan is a Sudanese army general who is the de facto ruler of Sudan. Following the Sudanese Revolution in April 2019, he was handed control of the military junta, the Transitional Military Council, a day after it was formed, due to protesters' dissatisfaction with the establishment ties of initial leader Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf. He served as chairman of the TMC until a draft constitutional declaration signed with civilians went into effect in August 2019, and a collective head of state Transitional Sovereignty Council was formed, also to be initially headed by al-Burhan.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to mononymously as Hemedti, Hemetti, Hemeti, or Hemitte, is a Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, who was the Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) following the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Since 2013, Hemetti has commanded the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He was considered by The Economist to be the most powerful person in Sudan as of early July 2019.
The following lists events during 2023 in the Republic of the Sudan.
A war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under Hemedti, rival factions of the military government of Sudan, began on 15 April 2023. Fighting has been concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of October 2023, between 9,000 and 10,000 people had been killed and 6,000 to 12,000 others injured. As of 24 October 2023, over 4.8 million were internally displaced and more than 1.3 million others had fled the country as refugees, and many civilians in Darfur have been reported dead as part of the 2023 Masalit massacres.
The battle of Khartoum is an ongoing battle for control of Khartoum State between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The battle began on 15 April 2023, after the RSF captured Khartoum International Airport, several military bases, and the presidential palace, starting an escalating series of clashes.
An ongoing refugee crisis began in Africa in mid-April 2023 after the outbreak of the 2023 Sudan conflict. By November, more than 1.2 million people have fled the country, while more than six million had been internally displaced. These included at least 75,000 migrant returnees and other third-country nationals.
The Darfur campaign or Darfur offensive is a theatre of operation in the 2023 war in Sudan that affects five states in Darfur: South Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, Central Darfur and West Darfur. The offensive mainly started on 15 April 2023 in West Darfur where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forces captured Geneina, the conflict came after several days of high tensions between the forces and the government.
The following is a timeline of the War in Sudan (2023).
The Battle of Nyala was a battle for control of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur in Sudan, between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the Sudanese Armed Forces during the ongoing Darfur campaign. The first battle occurred between 15 and 20 April 2023, during which hundreds were reported dead. A civilian-brokered ceasefire paused the fighting by April 20. Sporadic clashes broke out between May and July. In August 2023, the RSF launched an offensive on the city. The SAF launched air campaigns against the RSF in Nyala, with many civilian casualties in Taiba and El Matar. In late September, the RSF besieged the headquarters the SAF's 16th Infantry Division headquarters, capturing it on October 26.
The humanitarian crisis following the 2023 Sudan conflict was further exacerbated by the violence occurring during a period of high temperatures, drought and the conflict starting during the latter part of the fasting month of Ramadan. Most residents were unable to venture outside of their homes to obtain food and supplies for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. A doctors' group said that hospitals remained understaffed and were running low on supplies as wounded people streamed in. The World Health Organization recorded around 26 attacks on healthcare facilities, some of which resulted in casualties among medical workers and civilians. The Sudanese Doctors' Union said more than two-thirds of hospitals in conflict areas were out of service with 32 forcibly evacuated by soldiers or caught in the crossfire. The United Nations reported that shortages of basic goods, such as food, water, medicines and fuel have become "extremely acute". The delivery of badly-needed remittances from overseas migrant workers was also halted after Western Union announced it was closing all operations in Sudan until further notice. The World Food Programme said that more than $13 million worth of food aid destined for Sudan had been looted since the fighting broke out. An estimated 25 million people, equivalent to more than half of Sudan’s population, were said to be in need of aid.
The Battle of El Fasher is an ongoing battle for control of the town of El Fasher in North Darfur during the 2023 Sudan conflict. The first battle for the city took place between April 15 and April 20, and resulted in a ceasefire that held until May 12. Clashes broke out again between May 12 and 29, and ended with a more stable ceasefire that lasted until August. By September, the city had become a haven for refugees across the region, and was also suffering from food and water shortages.
The Treaty of Jeddah or Jeddah Declaration and long named to the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan: the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces Agreement on a Short-Term Ceasefire and Humanitarian Arrangements is a ongoing international agreement that was made to make peace in Sudan. The Treaty of Jeddah, which was signed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan and representatives of both warring sides on 20 May 2023, entered into force 48 hours later on 22 May 2023. The agreement was supposed to create a week-long ceasefire and the distribution of humanitarian aid within the country. The agreement expired suddenly after a surge of clashes on 23 May 2023, a day after the agreement came into effect. With the actual date of expiry being 27 May 2023, the nations agreed on an extension for five days but was shortened due to the agreement's ineffectiveness.
The siege of El Obeid was a siege in El-Obeid, North Kordofan, Sudan, during the 2023 Sudan conflict. The battle began on April 15, and saw the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) capture the El Obeid airport from the Sudanese Army contingent in the city. Throughout April and May, the Sudanese Army repelled several RSF assaults on the city, although by May 30, the RSF fully surrounded the city and laid siege to it.
The 2023 Khartoum destruction of aircraft was the loss of several civilian aircraft that occurred during the battle of Khartoum in Sudan.
The war in Sudan, which started on 15 April 2023, has seen a widespread of war crimes committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the RSF being singled out by the Human Rights Watch and the UK government. The conflict was marked by heavy indiscriminate shelling, gunfire, and airstrikes on markets and populated residential neighbourhoods, causing a high number of fatalities. Hospitals were targeted during aerial bombings and artillery fire, and medical supplies were looted. These attacks severely impacted Sudan’s healthcare system, disrupting medical services and leaving the majority of the hospitals in conflict-affected states out of service. The UN declared Sudan the most dangerous country for humanitarian workers after South Sudan.