What are the goals of the “Khartoum Operation” and restoring bridges in the capital? | Politics news
Al Jazeera Net correspondents
Khartoum- Today, Thursday, the Sudanese army carried out a large military operation in the three cities of Khartoum State, in which ground, air and naval forces participated, during which it advanced across three bridges linking the cities of the capital, towards the objectives of the Rapid Support Forces and took control of important sites in central Khartoum, in a prominent development in the battles that began before 17 months.
A military official in the Ministry of Defense told Al Jazeera Net that the army crossed the White Nile, Al-Fatihab and Halfaya bridges that connect Omdurman with Khartoum and Khartoum with Bahrain and advanced in different directions towards strategic goals to control the center of Khartoum, and the Omdurman forces that stormed the Arab market clashed with the forces of the General Command in central Khartoum, which means ending its siege completely.
The military official explained that the Corps of Engineers forces, which crossed the Al-Fatihab Bridge and the White Nile, took control of the headquarters of the Bank of Sudan, Zain Telecom Company, Petrodar Oil Company, the Coral Hotel, the National Museum, and the Martyr’s Mosque.
It advanced to the outskirts of the Strategic Battalion and regained control of the National Medical Laboratory “Stack”, thus linking the army’s communication between Omdurman and central, southern and eastern Khartoum.
The Sudanese army from the heart of Khartoum after the escape of the Rapid Support Forces pic.twitter.com/4PMo8tHEQ9
– Khaberni – khaberni (@khaberni) September 26, 2024
The spokesman, who requested to remain anonymous, says that the army left the General Command headquarters in central Khartoum, east and west, and destroyed targets of the Rapid Support Forces. The Signal Corps forces also expanded their deployment in central Khartoum North, as well as the forces that crossed the Halfaya Bridge from Omdurman to Khartoum North. The Rapid Support suffered huge losses.
He stated that the army also carried out an opening in the Corps of Engineers in Al-Ailfoun and Hattab in the eastern Nile, alongside the Al-Kader forces, for the purpose of controlling strategic headquarters and roads and breaking up the Rapid Support militia concentrations. He expected the operation to continue for weeks to complete its goals of liberating the entire capital from the “rebel militia.”
The same source reported that the army opened to the west in Omdurman, and the Armed Forces forces in Khartoum opened to the south in the neighboring neighborhoods, which led to the flight of the Rapid Support Forces towards the southern regions.
On the other hand, Al-Basha Muhammad Tabiq, advisor to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, said in a blog post, “Our forces were able to destroy a Sudanese army vehicle that attempted to cross the Medical Weapon Bridge in the capital cities towards the city of Khartoum.”
Objectives of the military operation
For his part, military and security expert Salem Abdullah believes that the army leadership, which was hinting during the recent period at a large operation, aims, with the simultaneous ground opening in the cities of the capital for the first time since the start of the war, to destroy the remaining solid power of the Rapid Support Forces, and to increase pressure on them to push them to Collapse and restore the positions it controlled to put pressure on it in the states of Jazira and Sinnar.
According to what the expert told Al Jazeera Net, the timing of the operation coincides with the presence of the President of the Sovereignty Council and the Army Commander in New York and his address to the United Nations General Assembly to send messages that the initiative is in the hands of the army and the Rapid Support Forces are retreating, which improves his political and military position and gives him cards in any possible negotiations.
The military expert believes that the army obtained new weapons and equipment, after dozens of fighters and drones participated in the Khartoum operation and controlled its airspace, and at the same time, other fighters bombed targets of the Rapid Support Forces around Al-Fasher in North Darfur, Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazira State, and other sites in Sennar State.
Suddenness and synchronicity
The security and military expert rules out that the military operation will be decisive for the army to restore all the areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces in the capital within a short period, as the forces are concentrated in their heavy areas in Salha in southern Omdurman, which is open to the states of North Kordofan and White Nile, as well as in southern Khartoum and eastern Nile, according to For the speaker.
As for the military expert, retired Brigadier General Jamal Al-Shaheed, he says that what distinguishes the army’s military operation is that it was sudden and simultaneous in several axes, which caused the Rapid Support Forces to lose focus as they were concentrating their forces in one axis to prevent the army’s advance. The military operation was also accompanied by air and ground operations in locations in the states. North Darfur, Al-Jazira, Sennar, and the White Nile, which distracted the efforts of his “enemy.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, the military expert believes that the army crossing 3 bridges linking Omdurman with Khartoum and Khartoum Bahri and regaining control over important sites will open roads and bridges to the movement of citizens after they were closed by the Rapid Support.
According to the spokesman, the Khartoum operation will be the beginning of the end of the war in Khartoum and will give the army an impetus to end the control of the Rapid Support Forces over areas in the states of Darfur, Al-Jazira and Sinnar. It reflects the decline of the Rapid Support Forces and the weakness of their morale, and he expects the operation to continue to restore all sites.
In his opinion, one of the indicators of the Khartoum Operation is the participation of the armed forces with all their ground, air and naval units, alongside the intelligence forces, special forces and muster forces.
Also, the fact that citizens in Omdurman and North Khartoum Bahri took to the streets in joy at the army’s deployment, distributing sweets, and offering food and iced juices confirms the support that the army finds and the isolation that the Rapid Support suffers from after its crimes against civilians.
