Sennar offensive

Last updated
Sennar offensive
Part of the Sudanese civil war (2023-present)
War in Sudan (2023).svg
Date30 June 2024 – present
(6 months, 1 week and 6 days)
Location
Status Ongoing
Territorial
changes
  • Sudanese army recaptures most of Sennar state except small villages under RSF control, including Mazmoum.
  • RSF launches incursion into Blue Nile State since 4 August 2024. [1]
Belligerents

Insignia of the Sudanese Armed Forces.svg Sudanese Armed Forces

Al-Bara' ibn Malik Battalion [2]
The Middle Call [3]

  • 1st self-defence battalion
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt (alleged) [4]
Flag of the Rapid Support Forces (Sudan).png Rapid Support Forces
Commanders and leaders
Insignia of the Sudanese Armed Forces.svg Ayoub Abdel-Qader
Insignia of the Sudanese Armed Forces.svg Shams al-Din Kabbashi [5]
Insignia of the Sudanese Armed Forces.svg Abdelbasit Abdelmonim
Insignia of the Sudanese Armed Forces.svg Abu Aqla Kikil (from October 2024)
Fatah al-Aleem al-Sobhi
Flag of the Rapid Support Forces (Sudan).png Abdel Rahman Albishi   [6]
Flag of the Rapid Support Forces (Sudan).png Abu Aqla Kikil   White flag icon.svg
Casualties and losses
Per RSF:
21 vehicles seized [7]
5 vehicles destroyed
150 killed
Dozens captured
15 vehicles destroyed [8]
450 killed [9]
~ 1,300 civilian missing since RSF assault on Sinja [10]

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has waged a major offensive against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Sennar State, resulting in widespread violence and displacement, [11] [12] as part of the ongoing Sudanese civil war.

Contents

Background

On 15 April 2023, tension between the RSF and SAF escalated into a war. The Rapid Support Forces is led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly referred to as Hemedti, and the Sudanese Armed Forces is led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. RSF was able to gain areas across the country. After the RSF's capture of Wad Madani, it was able to make its way to Sennar State. [13] A full offensive on the state was launched on 30 June 2024.

Offensive

The Sennar Offensive began with the RSF attacking the village of Jebal Moya in Sennar province. The conflict soon spread to the provincial capital of Singa, where intense fighting erupted. [11]

RSF fighters in pickup trucks mounted with automatic rifles rampaged through Singa, looting houses and shops, and taking over the city's main hospital. The RSF claimed to have seized the military's main facility, the 17th Infantry Division Headquarters, in Singa.

After the RSF captured the state capital Sinjah, it expanded eastward and captured Dinder. [14] The SAF recaptured the Dinder on 4 July 2024 and claimed that the RSF retreated to Sinja. [15] The statement also claimed to have inflicted heavy losses, destroying 7 vehicles, seizing 9 others, killing 170 soldiers, and captured an unknown SAF commander. A video was also shown of RSF fighters on the Dinder Bridge. [16]

On 5 July 2024, the SAF recaptured the city of El-Suki as well, a city 25 miles east of Sennar. [17]

On 20 July 2024, [18] Lieutant General Abdel Rahman Albishi, a RSF commander leading military operations in Sennar and Blue Nile, was killed in an airstrike in Singa; [19] 400 fighters fighting under his command were also killed. [20] Albishi was originally from Bout, Blue Nile State, and from the Rufa'a tribe. [21]

By 5 October 2024, the SAF recaptured Jebel Moya. [22] The SAF renewed an offensive in Dinder on 19 October 2024. The army reportedly captured and destroyed an unknown number of vehicles and also established checkpoints in surrounding villages. [23] [24] By 23 October 2024, the SAF recaptured Dinder after a few days of battling for the town. [25] [26]

On 20 October 2024, The SAF announced the defection of Abu Aqla Kakil, the RSF's commander in Gezira State. [27]

By 23 October, The Sudanese army seizes Al-Dinder from Rapid Support Forces. [28] Since then, The Sudanese army kept pushing towards Singa the capital of Sennar State. Liberating villages from the brutal RSF control and torture warfare used all against International Law.

On 7 November 2024, the SAF arrested dozens of suspected RSF collaborators and recruits in villages west of Dinder. [29]

In 22 November, The SAF were in the doorsteps of Singa. Heavy fighting can be heard in the outskirts of the city with multiple wounded being reported.

By 23 November, The SAF stormed the city and took main control of the main market, hospitals, and the 17th infantry division headquarters. Heavy celebrations flooded the streets of Singa with many refugees who were prior displaced by the RSF are returning to their homes. [30]

Impact and aftermath

The violence forced about 57,000 people to flee their homes. Those fleeing Singa arrived in Gedaref, Blue Nile, White Nile, and Kassala states. Aid groups in Gedaref, which is already hosting more than 600,000 people, started planning for the arrival of those fleeing Sennar.

The Sennar Offensive has had severe humanitarian consequences, with potential future disruption of large-scale agricultural programs in the nearby provinces of Blue Nile, White Nile, and Jazira.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sennar State</span> State of Sudan

Sennar is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 37,844 km2 (14,612 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 1,918,692 in 2018.

Dinder is a town in the Sennar state in eastern Sudan. It is within a large loop of the Dinder River, on the western side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North</span> Political party and militant organisation in Sudan

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North, or SPLM–N, is a political party and militant organisation in the Republic of the 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. In 2011 when South Sudan broke away from Sudan to form a new country, most of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Army (SPLA) left with it, leaving units remaining across the border in Sudan to form the SPLA–N.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile</span> 2011–2020 insurgency in southern Sudan

The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was an armed conflict and insurgency in the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the 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).

Singa is a town located in the Sennar State of Sudan at an elevation of 439 meters above sea level. The town is situated on the west bank of the Blue Nile at a distance of 360 kilometers to the southeast of the capital, Khartoum, and 60 kilometers from the city of Sennar. Its population was recorded to be 259,000 in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid Support Forces</span> Sudanese paramilitary force

The Rapid Support Forces is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. Its actions in Darfur were deemed crimes against humanity by Human Rights Watch.

The following lists events during 2023 in the Republic of the Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese civil war (2023–present)</span> Ongoing civil war in Sudan since 2023

A civil war between two major rival factions of the military government of Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies under the Janjaweed leader Hemedti, began during Ramadan on 15 April 2023. Three minor (neutral) factions have also participated in the fighting: the Darfur Joint Protection Force; the SLM (al-Nur) under Abdul Wahid al-Nur; and the SPLM-N under Abdelaziz al-Hilu. Fighting has been concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of 14 November 2024, at least 61,000 people had been killed in Khartoum State alone, of which 26,000 were a direct result of the violence. As of 5 July 2024, over 7.7 million were internally displaced and more than 2.1 million others had fled the country as refugees, and many civilians in Darfur have been reported dead as part of the Masalit massacres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Khartoum (2023–present)</span> Ongoing major battle of the Sudanese civil war

The battle of Khartoum is an ongoing major battle for control of Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, with fighting in and around the city 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.

The following is a timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of El Fasher</span> 2024 military engagement during the third Sudanese civil war

The siege of El Fasher is an ongoing battle for control of the town of El Fasher in North Darfur during the Sudan conflict. The first battle for the city took place between 15 and 20 April 2023, and resulted in a ceasefire that held until 12 May. Clashes broke out again between 12 and 29 May, and ended with a more stable ceasefire that lasted until August. By September, the city had become a haven for refugees across the region, without enough food and water.

The following lists events during 2024 in the Republic of the Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Wad Madani</span> Battle during the War in Sudan

The Battle of Wad Madani was a battle in the Sudanese civil war over the control of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State in east-central Sudan, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The initial battle ended with the RSF capturing the town on 19 December 2023. The Sudanese Armed Forces retook control of the town on 11 January 2025.

The siege of Babanusa was a siege during the Sudanese civil war. The siege started when fighting erupted between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on 22 January 2024 near Babanusa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Bara' ibn Malik Battalion</span> Sudanese Islamist militia

The Al-Bara' ibn Malik Battalion, also spelled as El-Baraa Ibn Malik or Abaraa Iban Malik, is a Sudanese Islamist militia that emerged within the complex network of militias and armed factions in Sudan, operating within the Sudanese Popular Resistance movement. The militia is linked to the Popular Defence Forces, a paramilitary group that was active during Bashir regime era, and currently known as the 'Shadow Battalions'. It has been active in supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in their ongoing battles against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Resistance of Sudan</span> Armed factions in Sudan (2023–present)

The Popular Resistance, also known as the Popular mobilisation, is a conglomerate of armed factions in Sudan that was formed in response to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This conflict, rooted in a power struggle within the country's military structure, erupted into full-scale war on 15 April 2023.

The following is a timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempted assassination of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan</span> 2024 assassination of Hamas leader

On July 30, 2024, the de facto ruler of Sudan and concurrent chairman of its Transitional Sovereignty Council and head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was targeted in an assassination attempt using drones at a military graduation ceremony in Jubayt, Red Sea State in eastern Sudan. He survived.

The Galgani massacre refers to a mass killing of civilians in the central Sudanese village of Galgani by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 August 2024, which killed at least 108 people, including at least 24 women and children.

A series of air strikes are being conducted by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against positions of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) across Sudan, resulting in a significant increase in the number of civilian deaths in the war. Civilian areas and RSF-held positions have been targeted by the SAF in North Darfur, North Kordofan, Gezira State, and White Nile State, resulting in an estimated death toll of 523 Sudanese civilians.

References

  1. Monitor, Sudan War. "Map: RSF incursion into Blue Nile State". sudanwarmonitor.com.
  2. Monitor, Sudan War. "Sudan army regains control of Sinja". sudanwarmonitor.com.
  3. "Sudanese communities take up arms as the army fails to protect civilians".
  4. "Sudan's El Burhan visits Jebel Moya after army recapture". Dabanga Radio TV Online. 14 October 2024.
  5. "Sudan army recaptures key Jebel Moya region from RSF". Sudan Tribune. 6 October 2024.
  6. "RSF claims victory in Al-Dinder, second capture in days". Sudan Tribune. 5 July 2024.
  7. "Fighting escalates in eastern Sudan's Sennar". Dabanga Radio TV Online. 25 July 2024.
  8. "Sudan Nashra: Military recaptures Jebel Moya, road linking White Nile, Sennar | Transitional Sovereignty Council source: Burhan is to relocate to Atbara, govt denies". Mada Masr.
  9. "RSF commander killed in Butana".
  10. "مرصد حقوقي: أكثر من 1300 مفقود عقب أحداث سنجة – صحيفة التغيير السودانية , اخبار السودان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  11. 1 2 "Looting and fighting reported in a central Sudan city as paramilitary group attacks military troops". AP News. 2024-06-30. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  12. AFP, Staff Writer With (2024-07-03). "Over 55,000 Flee Sudan Town as RSF Battles Army: UN". The Defense Post. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  13. Monitor, Sudan War. "RSF consolidate control over Jezira and reach the gates of Sennar". sudanwarmonitor.com.
  14. "RSF consolidates control over Sinjah, expands eastward". Sudan Tribune. 1 July 2024.
  15. "Sudanese army retakes A-Dinder from RSF". Sudan Tribune. 5 July 2024.
  16. Post, Sudans (6 July 2024). "RSF regains control of Dinder after clashes with SAF and allies". Sudans Post.
  17. Monitor, Sudan War. "Map: Sudan army advances in eastern states". sudanwarmonitor.com.
  18. "Senior RSF commander killed in Sennar battles". Darfur24 News Website. 20 July 2024.
  19. "RSF commander killed in Sennar".
  20. "Key Sudanese RSF commander killed".
  21. "RSF Commander Killed in Sudan Airstrike | Sada Elbalad". see.news.
  22. "Sudan army recaptures key Jebel Moya region from RSF". Sudan Tribune. 6 October 2024.
  23. "Sudan army recaptures key Jebel Moya region from RSF". Sudan Tribune. 6 October 2024.
  24. "Army clashes with RSF, reaches Dinder outskirts in southeastern Sudan". Sudan Tribune. 20 October 2024.
  25. "Sudanese army seizes Al-Dinder from Rapid Support Forces". Sudan Tribune. 23 October 2024.
  26. Monitor, Sudan War. "Map: Sudan army advances in eastern states". sudanwarmonitor.com.
  27. "RSF commander defects to Sudanese army in Al Jazirah state". Sudan Tribune. 2024-10-20. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  28. "Sudanese army seizes Al-Dinder from Rapid Support Forces".
  29. "Sudan army arrests RSF supporters near al-Dinder". Sudan Tribune. 8 November 2024.
  30. SudanTribune (2024-11-22). "Sudanese army tightens grip on Sennar as RSF advances in Blue Nile". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 2024-11-23.