Sudan Nashra: Sudanese military recaptures Dindar, Suki in Sennar, besieges capital Singa | At least 66 civilians killed by RSF in retaliatory campaigns in eastern Gezira

In Sennar State, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had expanded significantly since June, the Sudanese military shifted the balance of power in recent weeks, retaking two key cities in the last few days alone. Now, with only the capital city of Singa and a few small pockets remaining under RSF control, the military is on the verge of gaining full control over the strategic state.

On October 5, the military recaptured the strategic Jebel Moya area, followed by the swift collapse of the RSF in the region. Over the past two days, the military seized the cities of Dindar and Suki, bringing them within a very short distance of Singa.

Meanwhile, in eastern Gezira State in central Sudan, RSF forces continue to launch retaliatory campaigns against civilians in response to the defection of commander Abu Agla Keikel to the military on Sunday. These assaults, widely condemned locally, forced thousands to flee from the regions. Dozens have been killed, with reports of RSF forces forcibly displacing people, committing sexual violence, looting, and torturing.

Developments regarding a military cargo plane that the RSF shot down in North Darfur on Monday continue to unfold. A military source from the Sixth Infantry Division in Fasher told Mada Masr that the plane was downed using missiles previously unavailable to the RSF, suggesting that they acquired new weaponry. 

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Military continues to advance in Sennar 

On Wednesday and Thursday, the Sudanese military reclaimed the cities of Dindar and Suki, along with nearby villages, in Sennar State. The RSF retreated to the state capital Singa, which is now fully besieged by the military.

A military field source told Mada Masr that a decisive battle for Singa is imminent.

The source said that the military, along with security forces, armed movements, supporting battalions, and mobilized fighters, secured Dindar after intense clashes with the RSF on Wednesday, forcing their retreat to Singa and inflicting significant losses in personnel and equipment.

Military forces had moved from the Hawata area in Gadarif State days before the Dindar operation, the source said, splitting into multiple fronts to directly engage with the RSF, who quickly collapsed. The military secured the main market and several government and service institutions, as well as the Wad al-Eis bridge leading to Singa. They also arrested several collaborators with the RSF.

The RSF seized Dindar, located 25 kilometers from Singa, on July 5. Dindar is a crucial link connecting eastern, central, and western Sudan and is home to the Dindar National Park, known for its rare wildlife. 

The RSF’s capture of Dindar had displaced thousands and led to widespread looting of public and private properties, according to local resistance committees and human rights organizations.

On Thursday, the military also recaptured Suki following clashes with the RSF, which again retreated to Singa. A military source told Mada Masr that the fighting in Suki was brief, with the RSF withdrawing after the military launched a large-scale attack involving various formations.

Suki fell to the RSF on July 24. Located on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile, 40 kilometers east of Sennar city, Suki is home to the Suki Agricultural Project, one of Sudan’s most important irrigation farming projects.

Another field source told Mada Masr that the military’s Fourth Infantry Division in Damazin in the Blue Nile State advanced northward into Sennar State, capturing Jabal Kardos and the administrative unit of Lakindi on Wednesday. The source suggested that their forces will continue to advance to besiege the RSF in Singa and surrounding villages.

A local source told Mada Masr that a large number of RSF soldiers and their collaborators withdrew from the villages of Kamerab, Ferish, Edd al-Banat, and Manufli to Wad al-Eis bridge and into Singa.

The source also noted that other RSF forces fled to Renk in South Sudan, taking looted goods from cities and villages previously under their control. The source likewise anticipates that intense battles are likely to break out in Singa, the RSF’s final stronghold in Sennar State, in the coming days.

A former Sudanese military officer told Mada Masr that the cities of Dindar, Suki, Singa, as well as villages across Sennar are now under the military’s control following its capture of Jebel Moya in northwestern Sennar, which cut off RSF supply lines in the region.

The officer predicted that the battle for Singa wouldn’t be as difficult as anticipated, despite the RSF consolidating forces that withdrew from Jebel Moya, Dindar, and Suki. While their numbers are considerable, the officer said that they are running low on ammunition and are not well positioned for prolonged defense.

“The RSF is effective in offensive operations, but the military’s siege has rattled its forces significantly, especially after the killing of several of their leaders, including Bishi,” the officer explained. Abdel Rahman al-Bishi, the RSF commander in Sennar State and the Blue Nile region, was killed in an airstrike by the military in July.

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RSF retaliatory campaigns continue in eastern Gezira, resistance committees report 66 deaths so far

Refaa city’s resistance committees reported 66 deaths in eastern Gezira due to the RSF continuing attacks on villages in the region where Keikel, the RSF commander who defected to the military, hails from.

Military expert Major General Amin Magzoub described to Mada Masr the ongoing developments in eastern Gezira as retaliatory operations against the tribal community to which Keikel is affiliated. Magzoub said that these citizens are being targeted solely because they live in villages and areas with ethnic ties to Keikel.

He also said that the RSF is losing ground, with the trajectory of the ongoing battles going against them. Keikel's surrender was a major blow to them in Gezira, Sennar, and Khartoum’s East Nile area, Magzoub said, adding that the violations they committed have turned local tribes against them.

Magzoub said that it is preferable that the mobilization efforts be led by the state rather than tribal forces, cautioning that this situation could create future complications and stir tribal tensions. However, he acknowledged that the mobilization initiated by the chief of the Shukriya tribe marks a new development on the ground. This large, trained, and armed group of mobilized individuals, if under the military’s command, are capable of inflicting losses on the RSF and achieving complete victory, Magzoub said. 

This week, the chief of the Shukriya tribes in Kassala and Gadarif states, Ahmed Mohamed Hamad Abu Sen, called on his followers to immediately mobilize and support their kin in eastern Gezira. He urged them to stand with the Sudanese Armed Forces “to repel the brutal aggression and defend our people in Refaa and Tambul.”

Regarding the battlefield’s terrain, Magzoub described it as an open plain, which allows the RSF to maneuver swiftly. However, he added, "The battlefield has both its pros and cons. While it’s flat enough to the advantage of the RSF's four-wheel-drive combat vehicles, the terrain is also very favorable for military aviation and artillery. The balance is therefore even, except for the fact that the RSF is using civilians as human shields, which presents a major problem."

Meanwhile, residents of eastern Gezira told Mada Masr that hundreds of citizens from the Tambul area, the site of fierce battles between the military and RSF earlier this week, have fled the city. One eyewitness told Mada Masr that large waves of displacement are ongoing in Tambul, with citizens fleeing to the eastern and northeastern regions due to the RSF’s brutal actions.

The eyewitness also said that communication networks and phone lines have been cut off, complicating the situation, especially as the fate of hundreds of families remains unknown.

The RSF has been preventing many residents from leaving the area.

On Monday, the Refaa resistance committees stated that RSF forces continue to devastate the locality, having attacked several villages, committing numerous crimes, including killings and forced displacement.

The committees reported that the RSF attacked the village of Safeita Ghanumab, killing at least eight people and forcing the village’s residents to flee. They also said that the RSF continues to launch artillery shells toward the villages of Saqiaa and Safeita in an attempt to raid them.

The committees expressed concerns over a potential massacre in these two villages, given the RSF’s large troop buildup.

The statement also reported the displacement of residents from the villages of Aziba, Areibab, and Habeika al-Nagar, as well as the continued displacement of residents from Refaa city, with residents heading east toward the nearby villages of Bant and its surrounding areas.

On Wednesday, military Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivered a brief speech in the Butana area during the funeral of Brigadier General Ahmed Shaaeddin, who was killed in the battles of Tambul on Tuesday. In his address, Burhan declared that all those capable of bearing arms would be armed, stating, “You asked for arms, and we will arm you.”

Meanwhile, the Civil Front for Democracy expressed deep concern over the escalating violence in eastern Gezira and the widespread RSF campaign of abuses in the cities of Refaa, Tambul, Hilaliya, and surrounding villages. Many civilians have been denied their right to life, shot by RSF forces, the front’s statement said.

The front also condemned the looting of main markets, which they said served as lifelines for several areas in eastern and northern Gezira, exacerbating the humanitarian situation and leading to mass displacement from the region.

The front held the RSF fully responsible for the severe human rights violations in eastern Gezira, calling for an immediate end to the brutalities. It warned against further terrorizing defenseless civilians and urged both sides in Sudan’s conflict to adhere to international laws and the Jeddah Agreement, particularly regarding the protection of civilians. 

The front also called on local, regional, and international actors to increase pressure on both warring parties to halt the violence immediately and move toward serious peace talks to end the cycle of war and coups, paving the way for a civil, democratic transformation.

Also commenting on the events in eastern Gezira, Yasser Arman, leader of the Sudan People Liberation Movement-Revolutionary Democratic Current, said that the war now involves tribes and communities from Fasher to Tambul, rather than just being a conflict between two sides.

In his post on X on Wednesday, Arman warned that the current state of the war is tearing apart Sudan’s social fabric and will lead to tribal and societal polarization, making it a war of "everyone against everyone," rather than a conflict “with a new agenda” or one aimed at combating "remnants” of the past regime.

Arman demanded that all armed forces from both sides withdraw from Tambul and the villages and cities of eastern Gezira, and conduct their war away from civilians.

He added, "Keikil did not go to the RSF as an elected representative of the people of eastern Gezira, nor did he return to the military through elections in which the people of eastern Gezira voted." He further noted that what is happening amounts to war crimes against civilians, as has occurred in other regions.

Member of the RSF advisory office Ibrahim Mokhayyar, speaking to Mada Masr, denied that their forces launched campaigns against residents of eastern Gezira, claiming that they only arrested groups wearing RSF uniforms.

Mokhayyar accused Keikel and Brigadier General Ahmed Shaeddin al-Mansour, the military commander of the Rawa camp in the Butana area who was killed in fighting in Tambul on Tuesday, of orchestrating violations from behind the scenes to frame the RSF. 

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Sudanese military-owned cargo plane shot down in North Darfur

The RSF and its advisors circulated videos through which they claim to have shot down a Russian-made Antonov aircraft belonging to the military on Monday. An RSF field source, speaking to Mada Masr, added that the aircraft was carrying military equipment and ammunition. 

A Sudanese military source told Mada Masr that the downed plane indeed belonged to the military but denied claims that it was foreign. Regarding claims made in the videos that documents found in the wreckage belonged to a Russian crew, the source said that the military is investigating the matter.

Another military source told Mada Masr that the documents belonged to the crew supporting Sudanese officers on board, without clarifying the role of the Russian personnel.

In a call with Mada Masr, a former Sudanese air force expert said that military logistical operations in Sudan are complex and may involve private companies for transport and shipping, saying that this is a common practice.

Regarding the party responsible for these shipping operations, the source did not rule out the possibility that some operations are conducted by Russian employees or companies, especially if the shipments involve weapons or ammunition that require special handling.

A source in the Sixth Infantry Division told Mada Masr that the plane was shot down by missiles previously not possessed by the RSF, suggesting that this indicates the paramilitary group may have acquired new weaponry.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Sudan stated on Telegram that RSF representatives claimed shooting down a cargo plane in western Sudan and that the crew included Russian nationals. The embassy said that it is in communication with Sudanese authorities and will take all necessary measures to clarify the incident.