In Sudan, the end of the rainy season heralded the resumption of war. Taking advantage of a relative calm at a time when the terrain was difficult to traverse, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Bourhane, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, known such as “Hemetti”, which have been torn apart since April 15, 2023, have rearmed and reorganized in recent months with a view to preparing for a new phase of the conflict. Now the rain has stopped and the fighting is increasing in intensity.
Around 2 a.m. on Thursday, September 26, the FAS launched a major offensive in the capital, Khartoum, the nerve center of fighting since the start of the war. The operation, which combines air and ground attacks, was launched from the neighboring city of Oumdurman, recaptured from the RSF in February. The objective is to dislodge the paramilitary troops who still control the city center of Khartoum and, to the north, the city of Bahri.
While soldiers of the regular army managed to cross two of the bridges that cross the White Nile and the Blue Nile, causing violent fighting, all telecommunications were cut off in the capital. Contacted by the worldFAS agents did not want to comment on the current operation. The FSR, for its part, claims to have responded to the regular army’s attacks.
United Nations calls for “immediate action”
Without mentioning his troops’ offensive in Khartoum, General Bourhane spoke Thursday before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, trying to present himself as a head of state working to end the conflict. If the United Nations has requested a “immediate action” To protect civilians and stop the fighting in Sudan, for seventeen months, all attempts at mediation have failed.
The resumption of fighting in the capital inevitably raises fears of new victims, while for weeks now all eyes have been on the province of North Darfur and its capital, El Fasher, in the west of the country. Since May, the last bastion of the FAS in this region has been under siege by General Hemetti’s troops. Despite growing international condemnation and repeated calls to lift the siege of the city, the RSF intensified its attacks and made rapid progress.
“For two weeks we woke up to the sound of explosions. From morning until evening we heard the fighting nearby. After months of siege, there is no longer any supply, everything has become extremely expensive. “Most people only eat one meal a day.”Mohammed Haroun, an aid worker, says by phone.
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