The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched an operation early Saturday, recapturing Sinja, the capital of Sennar State, from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who had controlled the city for nearly five months.
This attack delivers a significant blow to the RSF’s operations in east-central Sudan, and points to the potential reconquest of the entire state of Sennar. However, some RSF units are still present in southern parts of the state, and even undertook an incursion into northern Blue Nile State earlier this week.
Eyewitnesses in Sinja told Sudan War Monitor that SAF forces, having taken Dinder and Al-Suki localities earlier this month, arrived at the city’s outskirts on Friday evening. The SAF reportedly faced little resistance when advancing into Sinja, entering the division headquarters at around 10:40 a.m. local time without fighting.
“We knew from yesterday, when the SAF arrived in the suburbs, that the city was about to return to national control. There wasn’t much fighting today. Most of the clashes occurred two days ago and early yesterday morning. The RSF seems to have retreated toward the 67th Brigade, though I doubt they remain there now,” one resident said.
Previously, the RSF had repulsed army attacks in the town of Wad al-Ais, which is on the eastern bank next to a bridge over the Blue Nile that leads into the state capital. But resistance at that bridge collapsed this morning.
Following this breakthrough, SAF units advanced quickly into Sinja from the southeast, as the RSF appear to have largely abandoned the city without putting up an urban defense. A video filmed earlier today shows a senior SAF general flanked by soldiers outside the Sennar State government secretariat in Sinja.
The confident demeanor of the general and the celebratory mood of the troops reflect the strategic significance of this victory to SAF. Although the army had captured several towns recently, this is the first state capital recaptured from the RSF.
The Sudanese armed forces in a statement on its social media Facebook page confirmed the recapture of Sinja, crediting the operation to the efforts of Maj. Gen. Abdelbaset Abdelmoneim, the operations commander of the army’s Sennar front.
“The Sudanese Armed Forces and other regular forces [are] within the headquarters of the 17th Infantry Division in Sinja city on the road to liberating the entire homeland from the terrorist rebel Rapid Support Militia (Janjaweed) in fulfillment of the promise and covenant,” the brief statement said.
Despite reports suggesting minimal combat, Fatah Al-Aleem Al-Hadi Al-Shobli, the commander of the SAF-aligned Baraa Bin Malik militant group in Sennar State, claimed fierce fighting occurred at the western entrance of the Wad al-Ais (or Sennar) bridge which falls in the centre of the livestock market and southeast of the city. This confrontation, which he described as “fierce”, resulted in the killing of the deputy intelligence commander of the RSF.
According to Fatah, RSF fighters fled south to Mazmum, a mountainous village 65 kilometers from Sinja, where the RSF continues to control the 66th Infantry Brigade headquarters, which it seized from the SAF on July 4, just days after Sinja fell.
Mazmum is close to the border with South Sudan, creating a risk that RSF units could attempt to flee into Renk County of South Sudan if the offensive continues.
The fall of Sinja follows a three-pronged offensive in Sennar State. Last month, forces operating from White Nile attacked eastward into the state, recapturing Jebel Moya, strategic mountain range lying along the vital Rabak-Sennar road.
This advance made it more difficult for the RSF to resupply and reinforce its troops in the state. The RSF had relied on Jebel Moya and the northern Sennar sugar company road to transport troops and military supplies to Sinja.
Simultaneously, troops operating from Gedaref State attacked westward toward Dinder, while troops based in the partially besieged state capital Sennar expanded their operations outward to neighboring villages, pressuring the RSF in the northern part of the state. SAF troops based in Blue Nile also supported the offensive, though the RSF has not yet lost significant territory along this axis.
The Sudanese army is also on the offensive in Khartoum and Khartoum Bahri. A campaign in that state began on September 26, with forces seizing three strategic bridges — El Fatihab (Victory), White Nile, and Al-Halfaya. However, the RSF are continuing to pressure the SAF with attacks in Darfur and Kordofan.
Celebrations and Al-Burhan arrival in Sennar
Spontaneous celebrations erupted in Sennar, the largest city in the state, with locals chanting pro-SAF slogans such as “One Army, One People,” welcoming the recapture of Sinja. The jubilant atmosphere extended to neighboring states of Gedaref and Kassala, where displaced residents from Al Jazira and Sennar gathered to celebrate.
Many of these individuals had fled their homes following RSF advances marked by widespread killings, rapes, and other egregious human rights abuses. Just weeks earlier, RSF assaults in northeastern Al Jazira State resulted in the deaths of unknown, but large, number of civilians and widespread displacement.
Women and girls bore the brunt of the violence, with numerous accounts of sexual violence accompanying the attacks. SAF's victory in Sinja rekindled hope for many who had fled the state or those who have stayed to endure months of terror under RSF control.
Following the announcement of Sinja's recapturing, the SAF confirmed the arrival of its commander-in-chief and head of the military-controlled Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdelfattah Al-Burhan, in Sennar town. He is expected to address SAF troops in the city to provide morale boost and signal of the army's intention to clear the state before making another move to capture Al Jazira.
More videos
The videos below, filmed by SAF combatants, confirm the army’s control of the 17th Infantry Division headquarters inside Sinja town.
The videos below show residents in both Sennar and Sinja celebrating following the news of the army's recapture of the Sennar State capital.
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