Sennar offensive

Last updated
Sennar offensive
Part of the Sudanese civil war (2023-present)
Date30 June 2024 – present
(5 months, 1 week and 4 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 Major General Ayoub Abdel-Qader
Insignia of the Sudanese Armed Forces.svg Shams al-Din Kabbashi [5]
Insignia of the Sudanese Armed Forces.svg Abdelbasit Abdelmonim
Fatah al-Aleem Al-Hadi Al-Shobhi
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  (POW)
Casualties and losses
Per RSF:
21 vehicles seized [7]
5 vehicles destroyed
150 killed
Dozens captured
15 vehicles destroyed [8]
50 killed
~ 1300 civilian missing since RSF assault on Sinja "More than 1,300 missing after Singa incidents".

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, [9] [10] as part of the ongoing Sudanese civil war.

Contents

Background

The conflict in Sudan has been ongoing since April 2023, when tensions between the SAF and the RSF escalated into open warfare.

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. [9]

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.

By 5 October 2024, the SAF recaptured Jebel Moya. [11]

The SAF announced the defection of Abu Aqla Kakil, the RSF's commander in Gezira State. [12]

By 23 October, The Sudanese army seizes Al-Dinder from Rapid Support Forces. [13]

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.

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. [14]

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid Support Forces</span> Sudanese paramilitary force formed in 2013

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

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<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.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of El Obeid</span> Siege in the 2023 Sudan conflict

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<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)

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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. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. "Sudan army recaptures key Jebel Moya region from RSF". Sudan Tribune. 6 October 2024.
  12. "RSF commander defects to Sudanese army in Al Jazirah state". Sudan Tribune. 2024-10-20. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  13. "Sudanese army seizes Al-Dinder from Rapid Support Forces".
  14. SudanTribune (2024-11-22). "Sudanese army tightens grip on Sennar as RSF advances in Blue Nile". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 2024-11-23.