Sudan Nashra: Military advances toward Wad Madani, launches strategic operation to link White Nile, North Kordofan | RSF shells Zamzam camp for days as battles for Fasher continue

Residents of central Sudan’s Gezira State have endured nearly a year under the rule of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who have killed hundreds, injured thousands and displaced millions. Now, however, hope for liberation has emerged as the Sudanese military, in a bid to reclaim the state’s capital, has captured strategic towns and villages in Gezira over the last week as it advances toward Wad Madani. 

Advancing from the south, west and east, the military is now just kilometers away from Wad Madani. The capital city fell, with its residents and displaced population, to the RSF on December 18, 2023, after being abandoned by military leadership. Under RSF control, the city and surrounding villages were transformed, marred by violence, rape and oppression.

The military’s campaign appears to mark the beginning of a decisive push to reclaim central Sudan, all the way to North Kordofan in the west. Coordinated attacks are being launched from Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman in Khartoum State, as well as from the Gezira and White Nile states. The military aims to establish strategic links: connecting North Kordofan with White Nile, White Nile with Khartoum and Gezira, and reconnecting western and southern Khartoum with the military’s General Command in the east. Simultaneously, the military aims to connect the General Command with the Signal Corps camp in Bahri, and link other forces in Bahri with the Signal Corps.

In the west, intense battles continue in the states of North Darfur and South Darfur, where the military and its allied armed movements are defending Fasher and targeting RSF weapon supply lines. These clashes come amid dire humanitarian conditions, threatening nearly one million civilians living in and around Fasher and its displacement camps.

In southeastern Sudan, the military has nearly completed its mission in Sennar State. With the exception of Mazmum, near the South Sudanese border, the state has been retaken. The recapture of Sennar marks a crucial step in the military’s repositioning and strategic deployment across central Sudan, as it races against time to bring the conflict in the region to an end. 

From the war’s onset, even as the military suffered early setbacks, the Sudanese Armed Forces’ spokesperson, Nabil Abdallah, said the military had a plan designed to ultimately crush the rebellion.

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Sudanese military advances from three directions to reclaim Wad Madani

The Sudanese military has launched an intense offensive this week, advancing toward Wad Madani from three axes in a campaign that saw key villages and strategic areas in Gezira reclaimed.

According to a military source who spoke to Mada Masr, the Armed Forces’ progress has been swift, and the current trajectory suggests the complete encirclement of RSF troops in Wad Madani within a week.

The first axis, led by Abu Agla Keikel, commander of the Sudan Shield Forces under the eastern military zone, extends from Faw in the east to Wad Madani in the south, passing through the Shabarga region. This axis targets RSF supply routes from East Nile in Khartoum State. In coordination with the Sudan Shield Forces and their reinforcements from Gadarif City, as well as the General Intelligence Service’s Anti-Terrorism Forces, the military has secured significant gains along this axis, notably the recapture of the Um al-Qura locality in eastern Gezira.

The second axis is to the south, where the military is leading extensive operations, including clearing the Sennar Sugar Factory region, which was reclaimed on December 2. Following a siege by Singa’s 17th Infantry Division and the Anti-Terrorism Forces, the military pushed deeper into the strategic area around the factory, located four kilometers away from Sennar’s capital and 114 kilometers away from Wad Madani.

A military field source told Mada Masr that, following their recapture of the Jebel Moya area on October 5, the Anti-Terrorism Forces advanced from northern Sennar into southern Gezira. These forces also linked up with units advancing from the Managil military zone, aiming to reclaim Hajj Abdullah and Wad al-Haddad — key areas separating Gezira and Sennar — another field source told Mada Masr. 

The third axis runs from Managil in the west toward the Madina Arab area. The military is advancing extensively along this axis, conducting combing operations to secure the region and encircle Wad Madani.

Simultaneously, the military continues operations in Sennar State. A field source told Mada Masr that the forces are likely to advance to the borders of Gezira while securing roads and crossings between the two states. Reinforcements from western Blue Nile previously stationed near South Sudan’s border are expected to join the operations, the source added. 

Meanwhile, the military is conducting combing operations and securing villages in southern Sennar, a field source in the Anti-Terrorism Forces told Mada Masr. Another military source told Mada Masr that only one area remains under RSF control in Sennar State — Mazmum, which is considered one of the most important sites in southern Sudan. Mazmum is just 20 kilometers from the border with South Sudan. The area also serves as a strategic link between the White Nile and Blue Nile states.

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Ongoing battles in Khartoum, military deploys drones

In the tri-city capital of Khartoum, intense battles continue as the military ramps up drone strikes this week. In western Omdurman, drones destroyed an RSF reinforcement convoy from North Kordofan. Drones also targeted RSF positions in Bahri, where the military is amassing troops near the Hattab military base to expand its presence in the city.

In western Khartoum City, clashes continue near the Mogran area with daily exchanges of shelling and sniper fire. The RSF maintains control over the stretch from the Sahel and Sahara tower in the west to the presidential palace in the east. Meanwhile, in southern Khartoum, the military has regained ground in the northern neighborhoods surrounding the Armored Corps camp, a field source told Mada Masr.

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Strategic battle for the Kordofan-White Nile road

On Sunday, intense clashes broke out across several fronts in the Kordofan region as the Sudanese military launched an offensive to recapture the city of Um Rawaba and reopen the road to the strategic city of Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, according to three military and local sources who spoke to Mada Masr.

A field source told Mada Masr that the Shaheed al-Sayyad Force, advancing from Wad Ashana in North Kordofan, seized control of Ghabsha and neighboring villages east of Um Rawaba following intense battles with the RSF. Meanwhile, military airstrikes targeted RSF positions at the city's entrance and checkpoints along the national road leading from Kosti in the White Nile State.

The Shaheed al-Sayyad Force was formed in August as a joint military force with units from the military, Sudanese intelligence, police and the Central Reserve Forces.

The city of Um Rawaba is one of North Kordofan’s most significant cities after Obeid and Bara. Serving as a gateway to the Obeid market, it connects goods arriving from the White Nile and Sennar states via a single route to Obeid, around 145 kilometers away.

Clashes reignited on Tuesday, the field source said, after RSF reinforcements, led by commander Hussein Barsham, attempted to retake Ghabsha. The military repelled the attack, inflicting heavy casualties and capturing combat vehicles, including Barsham’s. Barsham was injured and taken to a hospital in West Kordofan.

Simultaneously, the Shaheed al-Masry Force advanced from Abbasiya City in northeastern South Kordofan State to encircle Um Rawaba from the south, the source said, securing significant advances. Artillery shelling targeted RSF positions in the southern outskirts of the city on Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to the field source, RSF troops in Um Rawaba are now surrounded from three directions: the Shaheed al-Sayyad Force holds the northern front, as well as Ghabsha to the east, while the Shaheed al-Masry Force has entrenched itself in the southern villages. This leaves only the western route toward Rahad City open.

The source speculated that the military would continue attritional battles to ease pressure on its troops in Babanusa and Nuhud in West Kordofan before advancing on Um Rawaba. However, should the decision be made to capture the city, the military will move to secure the national road all the way to Obeid.

The road is critical for facilitating the transfer of  exports from western to eastern Sudan and for delivering food supplies to Kordofan and RSF-besieged North Darfur. The RSF has leveraged their control of Um Rawaba to support their troops in western Khartoum, maintaining supply lines and troop reinforcements from West and South Kordofan, where it is amassing troops away from areas targeted by the military’s Air Force and ground forces. The Daein-Maglad-Um Rawaba road provides an alternative route for the RSF to move between Khartoum and Daein, bypassing the 5th Infantry Division stationed in Obeid.

Another military source told Mada Masr that the military conducted airstrikes on Wednesday on RSF positions in Jebel Kordofan and Jebel al-Gharr west of Obeid.

On the humanitarian front, a local resident told Mada Masr that conditions in Um Rawaba are deteriorating due to the clashes east of the city. Residents are facing water and electricity outages, while markets and bakeries have shut down. The RSF has restricted medical treatment at hospitals to its personnel, and kidney dialysis centers have stopped operations, the source said.

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RSF attacks across Darfur kill 4 in Fasher's Zamzam camp, at least 20 in Dar al-Salam

In North Darfur, RSF troops attacked the Abu Zreiga area in Dar al-Salam locality on Tuesday. Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minnawi described the attack as a massacre and an act of genocide and reported that initial figures show 20 deaths and 20 injuries.

In the state capital, Fasher, the RSF continued shelling the Zamzam displacement camp, the largest in Sudan, for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, a field source told Mada Masr. The attacks on Wednesday resulted in six deaths, including a child, bringing the total civilian casualties to 26 dead and injured since the shelling began.

The source said that the artillery shelling not only caused civilian casualties but also forced the closure of markets, mills and hospitals, displacing hundreds of families. The RSF’s attacks also targeted the Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) facility within the camp, according to the source.

On Monday, MSF issued a statement describing the situation as a "nightmare" for the displaced, reporting civilian casualties, widespread panic and mass displacement. According to the statement, MSF teams received eight critically injured people on Monday evening, including women and children under four.

United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Clementine Nkweta-Salami expressed deep concern over “reports of the indiscriminate shelling of the Zamzam camp, health clinics and shelters.”

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Ambush near Nyala

A source from the military-allied armed movements told Mada Masr that their joint force ambushed an RSF convoy near Nyala in South Darfur State on Sunday, preventing the transport of advanced weaponry to RSF troops in Fasher.

The ambush resulted in the capture of three large Czech-made drones capable of carrying four missiles each and six smaller drones capable of carrying two missiles each, the source said. Additionally, thirty RSF fighters were killed and eight combat vehicles were destroyed.

On Monday, Sudan’s government accused Chad of direct aggression, alleging it launched drones from its territory with backing from the United Arab Emirates. At a weekly press briefing in Port Sudan, Culture and Information Minister Khaled al-Eaisar said the war in Sudan has taken a dangerous turn with the introduction of strategic weapons, reiterating accusations that the UAE is funding and supporting the RSF. Eaisar said that the government has conclusive evidence of both Chad and UAE’s involvement in Sudan’s war. 

The Defense Ministry Secretary-General Ahmed Saleh Abboud stated that guided missile-loaded drones targeting Sudan are being launched from Chad, adding that Sudan reserves the right to respond at a time and place of its choosing.

Abboud also noted that drones supplied by the UAE were transported via Chad’s Um Jaras Airport, repeatedly smuggled into Sudan through the Adre border crossing and delivered to the RSF. 

The Defense Ministry stated that satellite imagery and documents in its possession prove the involvement of the UAE and Chad in strategic drone attacks on Sudanese cities.

Joint force spokesperson Ahmed Hussein told Mada Masr that the RSF intensified attacks on Fasher in November, all of which ended in the RSF’s defeat and killing of several of their field commanders. 

“Having failed on the ground, they have resorted to heavy artillery shelling from outside the city, as well as using drones to target densely populated neighborhoods, civilian infrastructure and the Naivasha and Abu Shouk camps,” Hussein said. 

Hussein also noted that the recent operation near Nyala was a precision strike carried out by the joint force in coordination with Sudanese military intelligence. The joint force destroyed a missile-loaded drone and seized advanced weaponry, he added.

He further noted that planes continue to land regularly at Nyala Airport from Chad’s Um Jaras Airport, delivering military and logistical supplies to the RSF.