Sudan Nashra: Burhan, Afwerki discuss future of Sudanese armed groups trained in Eritrea | RSF advances in Blue Nile region

The presidential palace in the Eritrean capital Asmara once again became a venue for discussions on the Sudanese crisis, which continues to reverberate eastward over the Horn of Africa. On Tuesday, Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan held a closed-door meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to address shared concerns, including border security and the fate of the irregular Eastern Battalion forces — a pro-military militia that has been engaged in the fighting in eastern Sudan and has received training in Eritrea.

Burhan assured Afwerki that all armed groups would be integrated into the Sudanese Armed Forces and other regular forces once the war ends, a source in the Sudanese General Intelligence Service told Mada Masr, adding that post-war military plans and strategies are set to be presented to Burhan for final approval in the near future.

On the diplomatic front, the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa was the first destination for newly appointed Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssef al-Sharif, who held talks on Tuesday with his Ethiopian counterpart, Gedion Timotheos. The discussions centered on bilateral relations and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Sharif’s visit came after comments he made about the GERD, which triggered anger in Addis Ababa, prompting Ethiopia to summon Sudan’s ambassador in protest.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched new incursions into the Blue Nile region as they continue to face setbacks in the neighboring Sennar State. The RSF captured three areas in the Blue Nile, with a military source warning that their advance poses a threat to the cities of Bot and Damazin. Among the captured areas is Guli, a strategic location near the border with South Sudan and a key agricultural hub that supplies grains and other crops to the Blue Nile region.

In Sennar, the military secured full control over five of the state’s seven localities, confining RSF troops to Dali and Mazmum, which border the Blue Nile State and South Sudan, as well as the Sennar Sugar Factory region.

The military’s recapture of the state capital, Singa, last week forced the RSF to retreat to Dali and Mazmum. Some of the fleeing RSF units launched attacks in the Blue Nile region, while others fled across the border into South Sudan.

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Burhan holds closed talks with Afwerki in Asmara

On Tuesday, Burhan held a closed meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki at the presidential palace in Asmara. This marks Burhan's third visit to Sudan's ally since the outbreak of the war as part of the government’s broader discussions with its neighboring countries on water, security and food crises.

An informed source in the sovereignty council told Mada Masr that Burhan accepted Afwerki's invitation, which was arranged by Sudan's newly appointed Culture and Information Minister Khaled al-Eaisar. Eaisar, named in early November as part of a cabinet reshuffle that replaced five ministers, coordinated the meeting during a prior visit to Asmara before formally assuming office in Port Sudan.

Joining Burhan on the trip were Sudanese General Intelligence Service chief Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Hussein al-Amin al-Fadel.

According to the source, the talks addressed border security issues in the Horn of Africa, including potential threats arising from military activities in Sudan's neighboring countries.

Burhan and Afwerki also addressed Sudan’s suspension from the African Union and explored Afwerki’s potential role in lobbying certain countries to reinstate Sudan’s membership.

The talks also included the future of forces trained in Eritrea, namely the Eastern Battalion. Burhan briefed Afwerki on their current status and deployment. 

The Eastern Battalion, the first irregular military unit established in eastern Sudan following the outbreak of the war on April 15, 2023, has drawn sharp criticism, particularly from local communities in eastern Sudan, for fear of it turning into a new tribal militia in the area.

The battalion was formed under the leadership of Amin Dawoud, head of eastern Sudan’s United People’s Front for Liberation and Justice — one of the signatories to the 2020 Juba Agreement between the Sudanese government and the armed movements, as part of the eastern groups.

Dawoud is a member of the Beni Amer tribe, which spans territories in both Sudan and Eritrea, and is part of the larger Beja ethnic group that also includes the Handandawa tribe. Handandawa leader Mohamed al-Amin Turk opposed the involvement of eastern Sudan’s armed groups in the Juba Agreement, leading to a rivalry between him and Dawoud. 

Following the outbreak of the ongoing war, Dawoud, who had left Sudan, returned to Port Sudan, and the battalion was later officially launched in Eritrea in April 2024 under his leadership, before being deployed to eastern Sudan in October.

A Sudanese intelligence source told Mada Masr that the Burhan-Afwerki discussions are part of Sudan's post-war strategy, which includes plans to integrate all military formations, including the Eastern Battalion, into the Sudanese Armed Forces and other regular institutions under demobilization and reintegration protocols.

The source added that these post-war plans and military strategies are expected to be presented to Burhan, the military’s commander-in-chief, for approval in the near future.

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Sudanese foreign minister discusses bilateral relations with Ethiopian counterpart

As part of Sudan's diplomatic outreach to its eastern neighbors, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssef al-Sharif held talks on Tuesday with his Ethiopian counterpart Gedion Timotheos in Addis Ababa. The visit marks Sharif’s first trip to Ethiopia since assuming office earlier this month.

A source at the Ethiopian Embassy in Sudan told Mada Masr that Timotheos emphasized the importance of direct dialogue and sustained engagement to address shared issues, including negotiations over the GERD.

According to a source in the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, the two ministers agreed on the need for regular bilateral political consultations to strengthen relations, promote peace and stability, and foster economic and regional integration.

Earlier this month, the Sudanese foreign minister sparked widespread backlash after suggesting the possibility of war if Ethiopia fails to reach an agreement with Sudan and Egypt over the GERD. In protest, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Sudan’s ambassador in Addis Ababa.

Sharif later retracted his comments in a post on November 15, where he stated that the Ethiopian people “are bound to the Sudanese people by ties of blood, culture, and shared interests” and that the Nile “has always been a source of goodwill, love, and cooperation at the heart of these relations, and it must always remain so.”

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RSF advances in Blue Nile region

The RSF advanced into new areas in the Blue Nile region this week, as the Sudanese military continues to reclaim towns further north in Sennar State, southeastern Sudan, a field source told Mada Masr.

The source said that RSF troops infiltrated the towns of Gereiwa and Roro on Monday, before raiding Guli in the Tadamun locality the following day. The RSF also seized weapons and ammunition from a military unit stationed in Guli.

The RSF’s entry into Roro followed the defection of a Sudanese Armed Forces major who was leading the military units in the town, the source said, which disrupted the military’s ranks already struggling with shortages of personnel and ammunition.

RSF forces remain stationed in these areas, the source added. 

In response, the military’s Fourth Infantry Division in Damazin deployed a force of around 5,000 soldiers on Monday to the western Blue Nile region, near Roro, the field source said.

The fall of Guli shocked military leadership, the source added, potentially necessitating adjustments to plans to retake the towns.

The source warned that without decisive measures against RSF advances in the region, the cities of Damazin and Bot could face continuous threats. Bot, just 20 kilometers from Guli, is particularly strategic due to its location along the South Sudan’s border and its significance as an agricultural hub supplying grains and other crops to the Blue Nile region.

A local activist told Mada Masr that RSF forces attacked the area primarily to loot and stockpile supplies. The activist accused local military commanders of negligence, adding that they ignored prior intelligence warning of an imminent assault amid intensified fighting in Sennar’s capital, Singa, and its surrounding areas.

The activist described the RSF-held region as a fortified mountain range with about 50 RSF combat vehicles loaded with troops. This would make retaking the areas challenging without a significant military operation, they added.

The towns of Gereiwa and Roro have previously witnessed clashes between the RSF and the military. On October 7, the military announced that it defeated the RSF and recaptured Gereiwa, which RSF forces had seized in late June following their takeover of Singa.

Major General Moatassem Abdel Qader, an advisor at the Higher Academy for Strategic and Security Studies, downplayed the significance of RSF movements in the Blue Nile region.

Speaking to Mada Masr, Abdel Qader described these actions as part of the RSF’s propaganda strategy after losing key positions, such as bridges in Khartoum and Singa. He explained that the RSF engages in limited attacks on vulnerable areas to create the impression of being a major player in the conflict, seeking to be treated on par with the military.

According to Abdel Qader, the military has anticipated these maneuvers. On November 23, the military converged forces in Sennar, Singa, and the Blue Nile to secure the entire Ethiopian border region and extend control to the outskirts of Gezira State, he added.

He further noted that RSF forces attacking Blue Nile areas are fragmented and weakened after defeats in Sennar. These forces, he said, pose no substantial threat to the region, where the military and its allied factions maintain a significant combat advantage.

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Military retakes new areas in Sennar

In Sennar State, a military source told Mada Masr that the military regained control of several towns south of Singa, including Wad al-Nil, Abu Haggar, Karkug, and Um Banin. The military also seized ammunition and weapons left behind by fleeing RSF forces, many of whom retreated to the Dali and Mazmum areas in the state’s southwest. Others fled to the Blue Nile region, while some escaped to South Sudan.

The military fully secured five out of seven localities in Sennar State — Singa, Dinder, East Sennar, Suki, and Abu Haggar — as well as most of the neighborhoods and areas of the Sennar locality, excluding the northern parts. RSF forces are still present in the Sennar Sugar Factory area and control extensive areas of Dali and Mazmum localities, which border Tadamun locality in the Blue Nile region. 

On November 18, the Sudanese military launched a large-scale ground operation, reclaiming Singa and neighboring towns. The operation also reopened roads connecting Sennar, Singa, and Blue Nile’s Damazin after the military’s forces converged.

Abdel Qader predicts that the military’s next phase of operations will focus on areas north of Gezira and Khartoum states, particularly as RSF forces are now encircled in isolated pockets requiring targeted strikes by separate military units, which he said is already underway.

Abdel Qader noted, however, that the military faces a major challenge in Darfur and parts of Kordofan, where RSF offensive operations continue in areas such as Fasher, Keilak, and Babanusa. These regions will require concentrated efforts to eliminate the RSF, he added.