The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have formed the largest military coalition in Sudan's history, incorporating six armed factions, including the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC), and the Sudanese Alliance Forces, among others.
The coalition aims to unify military efforts and confront the Sudanese army, with joint operations and coordination taking place in regions like Blue Nile and South Kordofan, leading to territorial advances and battles.
The RSF and its allies have been working to establish political structures through the Sudan Founding Alliance, which is expected to culminate in the formation of a government.
Significant military action has been reported in areas such as North Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile, with RSF and allied forces gaining ground and engaging in joint operations against the army.
As the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) expand both their political and military coalition, described as the largest military alliance in modern Sudanese history, a prolongation of the armed conflict appears imminent.
The new coalition includes six armed factions: the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemedti"); the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu; the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council led by Dr Al-Hadi Idris; the Sudan Liberation Gathering led by Al-Tahir Hajar; the Sudanese Alliance Forces led by Hafez Abdel Nabi; and the Justice and Equality Movement led by Suleiman Sandal.
Nimr Abdel Rahman, a leader in the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC), says the alliance will be completed in four steps. Two steps have been completed with the signing of the founding charter and the constitution, and two steps remain: announcing the structures of the Sudan Founding Alliance, which is the major political incubator for the government. Consultations are ongoing, and the announcement of the structures of the Sudan Founding Alliance, the major political incubator for the government, will follow soon, with the final step being the formation of the government.
Not long after the signing of the Sudan Founding Charter and the Transitional Constitution in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, between Sudanese civilians and armed groups, the RSF met with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Blue Nile State and the Eastern Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan State. Similar RSF engagements also took place with the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC) and the Sudanese Alliance Forces in several areas of North Darfur State.
North Darfur State
The meeting of the RSF and SPLM-N was accompanied by the actual fighting of joint military battles against the army in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. According to military sources, large forces from the Sudan Liberation Gathering, headed by Tahir Hajar, are moving near Zamzam camp and have extended to the outskirts of Tawila locality, which is under the control of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdul Wahid Muhammad Nur. They are also moving in the areas of Abu Gamra, Orshi, Ambaro, and Karnoi, all in North Darfur State. These movements are being overseen by Chief of Staff Ahmed Abu Tenga.
The official spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Gathering Forces, Fathi Muhammad Abdo, informed Ayin that the joint military action with the RSF, following the signing of the Sudan Founding Charter, aims to unify efforts and weapons to confront the armed forces and their factions. "Advanced arrangements are underway to raise the level of military coordination, unifying operational command across various field sectors," he added.
The Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC), led by Al-Hadi Idris, has also entered into military coordination with the Rapid Support Forces. According to SLM-TC leader Nimr Abdel Rahman, their forces have a major base in the Korma area, North Darfur State, led by Ahmed Bakhit, and have convened with the RSF there.
Sudanese Alliance Forces
Another armed faction, led by the transitional Minister of Animal Resources, Hafez Abdel Nabi, under the name of the Sudanese Alliance Forces, has already merged with the RSF in the Damra area of Kutum in North Darfur state, according to reliable sources who spoke to Ayin.
The Sudanese Alliance Forces is the movement led by former West Darfur Governor Khamis Abkar, who was killed early in the war when RSF invaded El Geneina. The organisation subsequently split into two factions, one of which joined the fight alongside the army, while the other, led by Hafez Abdel Nabi, maintained a neutral stance in the war until the signing of the Sudanese Founding Charter.
"Our forces are fighting side by side with the Rapid Support Forces on all fronts, according to the military coordination we have been involved in since the signing of the Sudanese Constitution," Sudanese Alliance Forces Commander Hafez Al-Nabi told Ayin. "We will never hesitate to resist this criminal gang of the army and its terrorist battalions, which have subjected the Sudanese to all kinds of suffering, including killing, displacement, and revenge on the basis of colour and ethnicity, as happened to the residents of Al-Kanabi."
South Kordofan
While few changes have taken place in the El Fasher area of North Darfur State, the RSF's new coalition with the SPLM-N, the third largest armed group in the country, has witnessed significant changes on the ground in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.
The RSF moved to the southern axis of the "Dali" area in South Kordofan State, under the command of Major Hussein Qadim, and met with forces from the SPLM-N in the eastern mountains near the areas of Kabuji, Golo, and Debkayya. In a video clip, they announced the joint military action to achieve one goal, which they described as the uprooting of the former ruling National Congress Party from Sudan.
In a preemptive move, army forces opened up from the city of Dilling towards the Karkaria area in an attempt to open the road linking to Kadugli. They also brought in an allied militia led by a gunman called "Abu Rabt" to operate from the Delami axis east of South Kordofan with the aim of entering Habila and then linking up with Deling, located in the northwest direction of South Kordofan State, according to what field sources revealed to Ayin.
According to the sources, Abu Rabt, a former murder and robbery suspect who formed an armed group after the war, managed to enter Habila at the end of last February but was unable to hold out and link up with forces in Dilling as planned. Abu Rabt was forced to retreat to the Delami area after being attacked by the Rapid Support Forces. Habila has since become a frontline area, not under the control of any party.
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According to sources, Kafi Tayyar, the commander of an armed militia allied with the army, has retreated to Kadugli and taken up positions in his headquarters, following reports of disagreements with the army over vested interests and influence.
The control map in South Kordofan State remains stable with the army holding Kadugli, Dilling, Abbasiya, Talodi, Kalogi, Al-Liri, Al-Tadamon, Kartala, Abu Jibeiha, Delami, and Kargol on the road between Dilling and Kadugli. However, it is expected that the areas east and north of South Kordofan State and Al-Obeid in North Kordofan will witness a military escalation in the coming period.
Blue Nile
As for Blue Nile State, joint military coordination began on 24 February between the RSF and the SPLM-N forces in Blue Nile State, led by Joseph Tuka stationed in Bau locality. The two armies have carried out joint military operations, through which they seized several areas in the Bau locality, namely Malkan, Al-Rum, Al-Qarawed, Al-Tabilab, Tanfuna, Al-Fung, and the headquarters of the SPLM-N forces, Malik Agar faction, in the Olu area, according to military sources. SPLM-N and RSF also announced the opening of a joint training centre in the Bau locality in the Blue Nile region. The areas under the control of RSF and SPLM-N in the Bau locality are approximately 65 kilometres away from Damazin.
On Sunday, 16 March, the RSF announced their military advance in Blue Nile State, approaching the capital, Damazin. The forces displayed photos of captured military personnel but did not specify which areas they had entered. The army also issued no comment.
