Africa-Press. The leader of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, addressed his troops, stating, “The reins are with you,” following the loss of control over a strategic road in battles with the Sudanese army.
In a video message directed “to the forces on the front lines,” Daglo mentioned that the “reins” are not in his hands, adding, “The reins are with you, the reins are in your hands.”
The city of Al-Obeid, which the Rapid Support Forces have been attempting to encircle for months, has come under attack from drones after the Sudanese army regained control of a major road linking this city in Kordofan to the capital, Khartoum.
Local officials in the city, the capital of North Kordofan, attributed these strikes to the Rapid Support Forces, which have been amassing troops around the city in an effort to encircle it and launch a large-scale attack. This has raised international concerns about potential atrocities in the city.
Major Victory for the Sudanese Army
After recent advances in North Kordofan, the army was able on Sunday to push the Rapid Support Forces westward and secure the highway linking Omdurman and Al-Obeid, which is 400 kilometers long, according to two military sources.
One of the sources stated, “Our forces secured the export route between Al-Obeid and Omdurman, which opens a second route for supplying Al-Obeid city and beyond,” considering this a “major victory after the losses we inflicted in lives and equipment.”
On Monday, the Sudanese army released a video showing its leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, inspecting the Jabra Sheikh area, which was considered one of the last strongholds of the Rapid Support Forces in North Kordofan.
Alongside Burhan was the governor of Darfur, Mini Minawi, leader of the Sudan Liberation Army allied with the army, and Abu Aqila Keikel, leader of the Sudan Shield Forces, who defected from the Rapid Support Forces.
There were no reports of casualties in the recent attack. Since the beginning of the year, drone strikes from both sides have resulted in over a thousand deaths in the Kordofan region alone, according to the United Nations.
The war in Sudan has led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people, according to estimates from relief workers. It has also caused the largest crises of displacement and hunger in the world, according to international organizations, with 33 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
