MAP: Major SAF attempt to regain control of Khartoum and Bahri

KHARTOUM – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched a surprise major offensive against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Thursday, crossing three key bridges in the capital Khartoum. The operation aims to relieve the siege imposed by RSF on the General Command of the Armed Forces, the Signal Corps, and the Kadroo military area, which includes the Kadroo and Hatab camps.

The RSF has controlled large parts of Khartoum and Bahri localities since the war began over a year ago. SAF’s Thursday attack, the most significant since the February offensive in Omdurman where the army recapture the state broadcaster, began with heavy airstrikes and was expected to ease the RSF’s blockade of key military areas.

During this offensive, observers have reported SAF air activity reminiscent of the initial days of the conflict, which erupted on April 15, 2023. To assess the offensive’s impact, an analysis of developments in two of the capital’s districts, Khartoum and Khartoum Bahri (also known as Khartoum North), is essential.

Khartoum

On Thursday morning, SAF forces crossed into Khartoum’s Al-Mogran area after a series of heavy airstrikes targeting Al-Mogran and Suk El Araby, the capital’s Grand Market. Al-Mogran is a vital location where the Blue Nile and White Nile converge to form the Nile River, a central landmark of geographical and historical significance.

SAF forces, estimated to be around 500 troops or fewer, with limited vehicles, crossed into Al-Mogran via the White Nile Bridge and Al-Butihab (Victory) Bridge. These are the only bridges linking Omdurman directly to northern or central Khartoum. However, much of the SAF advance was stifled by RSF snipers, forcing some troops to retreat and photograph themselves near the Parliament building in Omdurman on the western end of the White Nile Bridge.

Although the SAF troops established a foothold in Al-Mogran, there was no significant further advancement. Video footage circulating online showed RSF forces firing west of the Zain Telecom building towards El-Shaheed Mosque along Nile Street, suggesting that SAF may have penetrated Al-Mogran as far as the mosque (15°36’24.24″N 32°30’11.87″E). By the time of this report, control of the mosque itself is unclear, but the SAF have taken control of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC) here (15°36’17.78″N 32°30’4.74″E) which lies 230 meters to the south of the mosque.

South of the White Nile Bridge, SAF troops set up defensive positions at the eastern entrance of Al-Butihab Bridge (15°36’10.44″N 32°29’46.51″E), according to photographs shared online. There was no visual confirmation of any SAF movement towards Suk El Araby, which lies to the east.

Meanwhile, RSF propagandist Ibrahim El Bagal was seen in a vehicle passing by Sudan University of Science & Technology and Khartoum Stadium, before turning left towards El Gaba Street. While there were no confirmed sightings of SAF forces in that area, El Gaba-Army streets juncture is the end of the RSF reconnaissance and is located at least 1 .2 kilometers to the eastern entrance of the Al-Butihab bridge where the SAF have made defensive positions.

In Southern Khartoum, SAF troops have shelled RSF positions north of the Armored Corps headquarters, whose control is contested. SAF troops from the Armored Corps are within the neighborhood of Shajara and haven’t initiated Significant advance into full regain control of the Armored Corps headquarters.

Khartoum Bahri (Khartoum North)

The SAF also attacked the Bahri district, known as Khartoum North, on Thursday. Troops were deployed from Omdurman using boats to avoid RSF sniper fire on the bridges. Reports began circulating that SAF forces from Omdurman and Kadroo military area had linked up for the first time since the conflict erupted. However, visual confirmation of this only emerged on Saturday morning.

By then, a prominent SAF propagandist from the Islamist Baraa Bin Malik Battalion was seen above the Halfaya Bridge, fighting along Mauna Street, which connects Halfaya Malouk to the Shambat district in central Bahri.

As of Sunday, SAF troops were still engaged in clashes with RSF fighters at a location (15°41’41.33″N 32°33’4.05″E), just 7.5 kilometers south of the army’s Signal Corps headquarters in Kober, the southernmost part of Bahri. Kober is separated from the General Command in Khartoum by the Blue Nile.

The joining between SAF forces in Omdurman and those in northern Bahri effectively breaks the RSF’s siege on the Kadroo and Hatab military bases in northeastern Bahri. RSF forces offered little resistance, with SAF troops marking the victory with celebratory gunfire. The RSF had likely withdrawn some of its fighters from Bahri to reinforce other fronts, such as Darfur and the Al Jaili refinery, reducing their strength in the area.

Fierce fighting was reported in the northern parts of Halfaya, where SAF soldiers clashed with RSF elements near a location just north of El Fatma El-Zahraa Secondary School (15°41’42.43″N 32°33’3.83″E), about three kilometers from the Halfaya Bridge.

In northern Bahri’s Ajar Al-Asal district, the RSF inflicted heavy casualties on SAF soldiers. On Thursday night, SAF troops entered the area without facing initial resistance. However, videos reviewed by Sudans Post appeared to show bodies of SAF soldiers and allied forces from former Darfur rebel groups.

By Saturday afternoon, SAF had maintained control over the two bridges in Khartoum, as well as the Halfaya Bridge in Bahri, solidifying their gains. While it remains uncertain whether the SAF will be able to maintain this momentum, these developments pose a significant threat to the RSF’s control in the capital.