Sudan Nashra: Military advances toward Wad Madani from west | Fasher reignites | Burhan accepts Kiir’s mediation offer

The conflict in Sudan, now stretching over 17 months, shows no signs of abating. Despite pronouncements of peace, both sides continue to portray the conflict as an existential struggle, ignoring domestic, regional and international calls for a ceasefire.  Their rhetoric continues to lean heavily on a military solution, pushing the country further away from the possibility of reconciliation between the once-allied Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 

The Sudanese government, displaying renewed confidence in a military solution, has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to this path. This confidence is likely the offshoot of recent diplomatic maneuvers, including visits to China, a longstanding ally, and reviving long-dormant cooperation agreements with Russia. 

On the battlefield, the military’s confidence has been further bolstered by territorial gains in several key areas across central and western Sudan, including Sennar, Gezira and Fasher, aided by intense airstrikes. In contrast, the RSF is facing internal disruption reflected on the ground due to the loss of several field commanders. 

Meanwhile, the chair of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and the military’s commander-in-chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, made a one-day trip to South Sudan on Tuesday, accompanied by his government’s foreign and petroleum ministers. Burhan met with President Salva Kiir to discuss several key issues, including Sudan's border security and Juba's perspective on resuming the flow of oil — a crisis that has severely impacted the economies of both countries following the sabotage of some oil fields and the takeover of others by the RSF near the South Sudanese border.

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Ongoing battles across several fronts

The sound of artillery fire and airstrikes has not ceased across Sudan's battlefronts over the past week. Field sources told Mada Masr that both warring factions are amassing troops and tanks, particularly in Gezira State, Jaili in northern Khartoum, and Fasher in western Sudan, as they prepare for fierce battles expected in the coming days in the fight for territorial control.

The military is positioning its troops across all fronts, holding them in place despite the weakening state of the RSF, the source said, which enables the military to destroy them with minimal losses. However, the source added that some areas where the RSF has long been entrenched pose a significant threat and must be dealt with.

The former officer also pointed to comments made last week by Yasser al-Atta, a member of the sovereignty council and the military’s assistant commander-in-chief. Atta announced that the military had acquired advanced weaponry capable of inflicting significant damage on the RSF if they were to launch an attack. According to the source, Atta said that the military is set to move in the coming days to recapture and liberate the Khartoum and Gezira states.

The former officer suggested that Atta’s statements could be seen in the context of psychological warfare. Atta's remarks have become the sole commentary coming from the sovereignty council’s military members, the source noted, which they said offered some slight relief to the public’s growing uncertainty about the fate of their country.

Khartoum battles

Sudan’s tri-city capital of Khartoum witnessed heightened mutual bombardments and military airstrikes this week. 

In Bahri, local residents told Mada Masr that military drones targeted RSF gatherings and artillery launch sites in Halfaya farms and Shambat gardens. Strikes also hit locations in the Kafouri neighborhood and the industrial zone. 

Airstrikes also targeted the Jaili oil refinery in northern Khartoum City. RSF positions near Taiba camp, south of the capital, also came under heavy strikes.

Meanwhile, the RSF continued its shelling of residential neighborhoods in the Karrari area in northern Omdurman. On Wednesday, artillery shells hit the Sabreen market — one of the capital’s largest operational markets — killing two people, including a child, and injuring 10 others, a medical source at the Nao Hospital told Mada Masr. Authorities subsequently closed the market. Shells also struck the Manara water station near the Nile, along with several western housing districts.

Gezira and Sennar battles

In central Sudan’s Gezira State, a military source told Mada Masr that the Sudanese Armed Forces deployed additional reinforcements to the eastern front at Faw, while the western front saw significant military gains, with troops advancing toward the capital, Wad Madani, after capturing the village of Shaygab near the city. 

The Gezira government announced "major victories" for the military on the western front, 12 kilometers from Wad Madani.

Local sources told Mada Masr that the RSF had mobilized its troops from the cities of Hasahisa and Kamlin, regrouping in the villages of Talha and Mahla, east of Wad Madani. The sources said that the military conducted airstrikes on these villages, as well as on the town of Hosh to the south, and areas in Sennar State, including Jebel Moya and the Sennar sugar factory.

Meanwhile, the RSF continued to conduct raids to loot Gezira villages, according to local sources and reports from resistance committees, emergency rooms and human rights organizations in the state. The Abu Gota resistance committees reported that dozens of bodies were left in the open in the village of Goz al-Naga following an RSF attack that killed 40 villagers in mid-August.

In a statement released on Sunday, the resistance committees accused the RSF of preventing villagers who had fled from entering the village to bury the dead. The statement called on civil society organizations to pressure RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo’s forces to allow access to the village for burials.

Villagers from Laota al-Awamra also told Mada Masr that the RSF looted their village. One person was killed and several were injured during the raid, as residents attempted to defend their property and families.

Blue Nile battles

In the Blue Nile State, in southeastern Sudan, a military source told Mada Masr that the armed forces recaptured the Roro area, which had been under RSF control, after intense battles on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Fourth Infantry Division in Damazin accused the RSF of executing a prisoner in the village of Gereiwa in the Blue Nile region. In a statement, they named two RSF members, Al-Sadeg Hamida and Reno, responsible for the execution and for the fate of all prisoners.

Fasher battles 

In the west, Fasher endured heavy artillery shelling from the RSF after their large-scale attack to capture the city failed last week, which resulted in significant losses for the RSF and the deaths of several senior commanders.

A field source told Mada Masr that the city continues to be shelled by the RSF, who are primarily targeting residential neighborhoods, with some shells striking the Sixth Infantry Division’s command in the city.

The coordination body of Fasher’s Resistance Committees stated that dozens of people were killed and injured on Tuesday, with the RSF launching over 50 artillery strikes on the city.

Since May 2, Fasher has been under relentless assault by the RSF, which has been seeking to capture the city. However, the military, backed by allied armed movements and popular resistance forces, continues to hold off their assault. 

Intense clashes have also reignited in Fasher, where the joint force and the military successfully repelled an RSF attack on Thursday that lasted into the early hours of Friday. A field source told Mada Masr that the joint force and the military have advanced into areas used by the RSF to launch their attacks on Fasher. 

A source from the Sixth Infantry Division’s command told Mada Masr that the military captured RSF fighters and inflicted significant losses in personnel and equipment on the paramilitary group. The source added that the repeated attacks suggest that various factions within the RSF are aiming to secure military gains in exchange for financial rewards from their leadership. The source also confirmed the death of Major Saeed Hussein Dayy al-Nour, the head of the RSF’s media and digital division.

The source denied any internal disputes within the Sixth Division's command, refuting Sudanese press reports of military disagreements between soldiers and the division’s intelligence leadership. The source attributed these claims to an attempt to manipulate public opinion, reiterating that their focus remains on military engagements, not on responding to such media allegations.

Joint force spokesperson Major Ahmed Hussein Adrob told Mada Masr that their operational situation is excellent following successive defeats inflicted on the RSF, with most of their leaders eliminated recently. Adrob confirmed the joint force’s readiness to repel any new attacks and hinted at their upcoming shift from defense to offense.

Adrob also pointed to an organized misinformation campaign by the RSF, aided by TV channels and political allies, spreading unfounded rumors of disputes and defeats. He stressed that the military, along with the popular self-defense forces and “all the heroes of Fasher” stand united in their mission to defeat the RSF.

Adrob accused the RSF of looting humanitarian convoys, including one from the World Health Organization in Malit and another from Medecins Sans Frontieres, which was intercepted in the Kabkabiya locality while en route to the Zamzam camp for displaced persons, carrying food and medicine for children. Adrob also said that most humanitarian aid was plundered after the reopening of the Adre border crossing, and accused the RSF of smuggling weapons disguised as humanitarian aid. 

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden issued a statement calling on both the Sudanese military and the RSF to re-engage in negotiations, noting that the RSF’s siege on Fasher “has become a full-on assault in recent days.”

Both Burhan and his rival, Hemedti, swiftly responded to Biden’s statement. Burhan welcomed all efforts toward peace, indicating that he would address these matters with US officials during the upcoming UN General Assembly meetings next week. Hemedti, in his response, reiterated his long-standing accusations that Islamists control the military and are obstructing peace.

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Burhan, Kiir discuss resuming oil exports through Sudanese ports

A South Sudanese official told Mada Masr that Burhan has accepted President Salva Kiir’s initiative to mediate in resolving Sudan’s conflict. During their meeting, Burhan and Kiir discussed the situation in Sudan, as well as the renewed peace agreements in South Sudan, and arrangements to resume oil exports through Sudanese ports, according to the official.

Burhan visited Juba on September 17 for a one-day trip, accompanied by a delegation that included Sudan’s ministers of foreign affairs and petroleum.

South Sudan had proposed a mediation initiative in late April 2023 that was welcomed by Burhan. Kiir reached out to both Burhan and Hemedti in a bid to mend the rift.

However, during the 14th Ordinary Meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) held in Djibouti in June 2023, the leadership of IGAD’s quartet on the crisis in Sudan was transferred from South Sudan to Kenya, undermining Juba’s mediation efforts. While Sudan accepted South Sudan’s leadership, it strongly opposed Kenya’s. Tensions between Sudan and Kenya escalated further following Atta's remarks after the IGAD meeting in Djibouti. Atta sharply criticized Kenyan President William Ruto, accusing him of lacking neutrality due to his strong economic ties to Hemedti.

Juba was also impacted by the RSF’s sabotage of oil fields and pipelines, especially after the RSF seized the Jaili oil refinery on the first day of the war, followed by the takeover of the Aylafun oil pump station — which transports South Sudan’s oil — in May. The situation grew more complicated when South Sudanese forces joined the RSF, particularly in artillery and rocket launcher units.

The Sudanese Petroleum Ministry officially declared in March a force majeure on oil exports piped from South Sudan due to the ongoing military confrontations.

Burhan's visit on Tuesday also centered on the oil issue, the South Sudanese official said, with China banking on Sudan's ability to reach an agreement with South Sudan to resume the flow of oil, in light of recent economic cooperation agreements. 

Sudanese Foreign Minister Hussein Awad said in a press statement that Burhan and Kiir agreed to open humanitarian corridors to deliver aid from South Sudan to war-affected areas in Sudan, specifically to Kadugli in South Kordofan.

Awad emphasized that humanitarian assistance will be provided under a joint plan between Sudan and South Sudan. He also noted that both sides agreed to resume oil pumping through Sudanese pipelines, with exports to global markets expected to restart within a month, following the completion of all necessary arrangements.

A source in the South Sudanese Foreign Ministry told Mada Masr that Juba's recent maneuvers are rooted in the close ties both warring factions in Sudan have with South Sudan's leadership. The South Sudanese leaders are seeking diplomatic advantages, the source said. In a trip arranged by Kiir's former financial advisor Benjamin Bol Mel, RSF deputy commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo also visited South Sudan in July.