Sudan’s military on Saturday drove out a militia group the United States accused of genocide last week and recaptured a major city in Sudan’s breadbasket.
Sudan’s information minister said the military had “liberated” the city of Wad Madani and said the military was working to “clear the remnants of the rebels” from the area.
If the military is able to hold the city, it would be the most significant victory since the war began nearly two years ago. Experts said the focus of the war would most likely shift to the northern capital, Khartoum.
Videos circulating online showed troops moving into Wad Medani, about 160 miles south of the capital. Local media reported that fighters from a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were fleeing the city.
The group’s leader, General Mohamed Hamdan, admitted defeat but vowed to quickly retake the city. “Today we lost a round. We have not lost the battle,” he said in an audio address to fighters and the Sudanese people.
The victory brought scenes of jubilation in military-controlled areas of Sudan, with hopes that it could mark a turning point in a devastating civil war that has led to genocide, ethnic cleansing and widespread famine in one of Africa’s largest countries. I was doing it.
People gathered on the battle-scarred streets of Khartoum and church bells rang in Port Sudan, the wartime de facto capital where many Sudanese have fled fighting. Celebrations also broke out among Sudanese exiles in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
RSF’s defeat comes just over a year after the group displaced tens of thousands of people and captured Wad Madani in a victory that shocked all of Sudan. The group’s fighters continued to occupy large swaths of the country, far from its stronghold in Darfur in western Sudan.
But much of the bloodiest fighting took place in Darfur, where RSF fighters massacred members of rival ethnic groups, according to human rights groups and the United Nations. Last week, the United States formally determined that the killings amounted to genocide and imposed sanctions on RSF leader General Hamdan, widely known as Hemeti.
The United States also imposed sanctions on seven UAE companies for conducting gold transactions and purchasing weapons on behalf of the RSF.
In recent months, the tide of fighting appeared to be turning, with the RSF ceding Khartoum and some territory in the country’s east. The military launched a counterattack in the area around Wad Medani, leading to the city being recaptured on Saturday.
Still, it is too early to tell whether this victory will fundamentally change the course of the conflict. Since the first shots were fired in April 2023, the momentum of the battle has swung back and forth, sometimes violently.
The military and RSF were once allies, and their leaders joined together to stage a military coup in 2021. However, in the war between the two countries, they have received support from various foreign powers.
RSF is supported by its wealthy Gulf sponsor, the United Arab Emirates, which supplies Sudan with weapons and powerful drones, mainly smuggled into Sudan from neighboring countries.
Sudan’s military obtains or purchases weapons from Iran, Russia, and Türkiye. Both sides are mining the country’s vast gold reserves to finance their fighting.
For ordinary Sudanese, the war has brought nothing but misery, death and destruction, killing tens of thousands of people, displacing 11 million people and causing the world’s worst famine in decades.
The world authority on famine, known as the IPC, reported last month that famine has spread to five regions in Sudan and is expected to reach five more in the coming months. A total of 25 million Sudanese are suffering from acute or chronic hunger.
Both countries have committed atrocities and war crimes, but only the RSF has been accused of ethnic cleansing, according to United Nations and U.S. officials.
