Fighting has intensified in Sudan’s capital region over the past few days, particularly in Khartoum Bahri, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Monday attacked a besieged pocket of Sudanese army troops based in northeastern suburbs of the city.
Both sides claimed to have inflicted significant losses on each other and the overall outcome of the fighting thus far is inconclusive. A senior RSF commander in Bahri, Major General Khala Issa al-Daif, is said to be among the dead.
Combat videos from the area, which we were able to geolocate, indicate that fighting took place on at least two sides of the SAF-controlled pocket, which is referred to in this publication as the Kadroo Enclave (an area that includes Kadroo and Hattab).
These geolocations indicate some territorial losses for SAF in the western part of the enclave as the RSF attacked toward the Kadroo slaughterhouses, a SAF strongpoint. However, the videos also confirm that SAF remains in control of the Hattab Camp—refuting RSF claims to have captured it.
Fighting took place at several locations along the Garri Ring Road, several kilometers south of Hattab Camp. The camp sits on this road in the desert to the east of the city.
Additionally, military sources, cited in Sudanese news outlets, reported that the RSF attack also came from the north, from the Jaili Refinery area, and from the east, from East Nile Locality. The fighting reportedly lasted many hours.
SAF sources portrayed the attack as a serious attempt to capture Hattab Camp, which anchors the eastern side of the Kadroo Enclave.
Altogether, the SAF-controlled area in northern Bahri is about 30-40 square kilometres, enclosing several neighborhoods, farmlands, and a variety of educational and commercial buildings, including a University of Bahri campus. Key strongpoints include the Kadroo Camp (also called Weapons Corps), a large complex of slaughterhouses and animal yards, and Hattab Camp.
Additionally, SAF have fortified the area with numerous smaller outposts, and they sometimes send patrols and set ambushes in contested areas or RSF-controlled areas elsewhere in Bahri.
The rest of Khartoum Bahri is all controlled by the RSF, except for a very small area near the Kober Bridge in southern Bahri (marked “Signal Corps” on the map above).
What is the significance of this fighting?
Heavier fighting in Khartoum Bahri could increase civilian displacement, sending thousands more people fleeing to the north. This would further increase the country’s already overwhelming displacement burden.
According to the International Organization for Migration, about 12 households were displaced from the Dardoog area and 46 from Hattab as a result of fighting Monday in Khartoum Bahri. They sought shelter across locations within East Nile locality.
During the offensive, the RSF beat and terrorized several civilians on the western side of Hattab neighborhood (15.701499, 32.664909), according to geolocated video. Both warring parties target perceived civilian collaborators, perpetrating mass arrests.
Militarily, the RSF may be targeting Hattab Camp because it is vulnerable and potentially easier to capture than other SAF bases, such as the better defended General Command in central Khartoum. The destruction of the Shambat and Halfaya bridges limits SAF’s ability to relieve the siege or reinforce the area.
Most of the SAF troops in the Kadroo Military Area were based there before the war, or arrived there during the first few months of fighting. Others were recruited locally from Bahri’s population, and a handful were infiltrated into the area from Omdurman. They are too few to seriously threaten RSF control over the rest of Bahri. Despite this, they have been a nuisance to the RSF, ambushing RSF vehicles and tying down troops that otherwise could be deployed elsewhere.
Capturing Hattab and Kadroo would help the RSF consolidate their lines in Bahri to face the more serious threat of a SAF attack from neighboring River Nile State. An offensive in this area could also be a precursor toward a larger RSF operation elsewhere. For instance, it could be a step toward a larger RSF effort to consolidate full control of the capital, Khartoum.
It remains to be seen if this fighting represents the start of a more serious RSF operation, or just another chapter in the daily grind of urban warfare that has ravaged Sudan’s capital region for nearly a year and a half.
Air Force bombs civilians in Zalingei
The Sudanese air force has continuously bombed parts of Darfur over the past several weeks, including during the recent Geneva peace initiative.
Zalingei and Melit were among the latest areas to be bombed. In Zalingei, an airstrike killed five people in Khamsa Dagaig Camp on Saturday night, including a newborn baby, according to the Coordination of Darfur Displaced and Refugee camps.
Doctors Without Borders, which supports the Zalingei Teaching Hospital, said that another seven people were injured, including two in critical condition. Among the wounded were one woman and two children.
Although the air force is targeting Darfur because it is controlled by the RSF, the camps around Zalingei are inhabited by victims of the RSF. This suggests that Khamsa Dagaig IDP camp wasn’t specifically and deliberately targeted, but the Air Force may have been targeting Zalingei indiscriminately, or it missed its target.
Speaking from the scene of the bombing (video below), Sheikh Matar Younis Ali, the General Supervisor of the Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees, condemned the airstrike, condemned the war, called for peace, and said that all those responsible for committing war crimes against the Sudanese people must be brought to justice before the International Criminal Court.
Darfur Victims Support has published a report with additional details.
Meanwhile, in Melit, warplanes dropped 15 projectiles on several neighborhoods and Rapid Support Forces sites, killing 11 people and injuring 9 others, according to Radio Dabanga. Citing a video clip of smoke rising from the southeastern edge of Melit, Dabanga reported, “It is believed that the aircraft targeted the Mellit military garrison headquarters, which is located in the east of the city.”
The RSF and Joint Force (SLM-Minawi and JEM) fought for control of Melit earlier this year. The city is located 65 km north of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. It is considered a gateway between El Fasher and the trans-Saharan routes to the north.
Airstrike on Wad Madani
The Sudan Air Force also targeted Wad Madani, capital of Jazira State, in a strike August 31, hitting the Malaga market (14.375041, 33.526389). Videos of the incident posted on Telegram, which we refrain from publishing due to their horrific nature, show the bodies of children and women in the city market, which has been controlled by the RSF since last December.
News in Brief
Sudan’s military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, traveled yesterday to Beijing to participate in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
Street protests erupted in Kassala over the murder of a young men in the custody of the intelligence service.
Mercy Corps, Danish Refugee Council, and Norwegian Refugee Council released a detailed report about the worsening hunger crisis in Sudan.
Photo of the Day
Heavy rains in Port Sudan damaged gathering sites for displaced people. Over 100 tents collapsed, causing loss of belongings. UNHCR provided new tents to replace the damaged ones, as well as other relief items.
