Sudanese Army Announces Repulsion of Rapid Support Forces Attack in Blue Nile

SadaNews - The Sudanese army announced its resistance to an attack launched by the Rapid Support Forces on the strategic Al-Barka area on the outskirts of the city of Kurmuk in the Blue Nile State, southeast of the country.

The army clarified in a statement that its forces inflicted heavy losses on what it termed "rebel militias," including neutralizing dozens of their elements, destroying a large number of combat vehicles, and seizing others. There has been no comment from the Rapid Support Forces regarding the army's claims.

Earlier, a source in the Sudanese army told Al Jazeera that army forces had regained control of the town of Al-Barka in the Kurmuk locality of the Blue Nile region after hours of Rapid Support Forces' control, following violent clashes that involved heavy weaponry.

The Al-Barka area holds strategic importance as it represents a main supply point and a crossroads in the southern Blue Nile State, bordering Ethiopia.

On May 24, the Sudanese army announced establishing its control over the Al-Barka area near the city of Kurmuk, marking the fifth area it secured within two weeks.

Last Sunday, the Sudanese army announced the death of 7 Rapid Support Forces members and the injury of 4 others on the outskirts of Kurmuk.

The Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North seized control of the city of Kurmuk in late March, as part of their attempts to extend their influence over cities in the Blue Nile State bordering Ethiopia.

The Blue Nile State has been witnessing escalating clashes for months between the Sudanese army on one side and the Rapid Support Forces and Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North on the other, leading to the displacement of thousands from various areas and cities in the state.

The army controls large areas of the Blue Nile, while the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North has been fighting the government since 2011, demanding autonomy in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Politically, the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance, one of the coalitions within the Sudanese democratic bloc, affirmed in a press conference held yesterday, Wednesday, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, its firm rejection to sit with the "Foundation" alliance as a political arm of the Rapid Support Forces.

Since April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces have been in confrontation with the army due to a dispute over their integration into the military institution, leading to a famine considered among the worst globally, in addition to the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of about 13 million people.

Source: Anadolu