Madani City Retake...Crucial Turn Or About-Face In Sudan Conflict

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) News report by Mohammad Abdulaziz
KHARTOUM, Jan 25 (KUNA) -- The Sudanese Army's recent recapturing of the key Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani in central Sudan, ending more than a year of control by the paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is viewed as a crucial turn of events or a fresh chapter in the war in Sudan.
The army believes that retaking Wad Madani is a decisive shift to tighten its control since its regular forces are currently advancing on all axes, mainly eastern and northern parts of the country, while the RSF still seizes six states, mostly in Darfur
The paramilitary forces, who have been at war with the regular army since April 2023, took control of Wad Madani and other towns in the state In December 2023.
On January 11, the RSF admitted defeat in, and loss of control on, Wad Madani city, with RSF commander Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo (nicknamed Hemedti) having announced "just losing a round of a long battle against the regular troops"
Speaking to KUNA, retired General Ameen Majthoub, a Sudanese security and strategic expert, said the regular army's recent victory was the culmination of proper planning and fresh urban war tactics.
He opined that the recapturing of Wad Madani City has cemented the army's status in northern Khartoum by means of advancing into further strategic sites, possibly leading to re-controlling the entire capital city of Khartoum eventually.
Also speaking to KUNA, Maher Al-Ameen, a Sudanese political analyst, saw the recapturing of the strategic city as a great victory that could result in creating some military equilibrium and improving the army's morale enormously.
He added that this could even pave the way for negotiations in the future, improve security conditions and allow more than a million internally displaced persons to return home.
On his part, Shawqi Abdulatheem, a Sudanese journalist and political analyst, believed that the Sudanese army's retaking of the strategically significant city is deemed a moral victory and strategic win.
He underlined that should the army capitalize on the recent victories, the balance of power could reverse remarkably, while admitting that the paramilitary forces would never give up.
The recapturing of Wad Madani, a strategically important city some 200km (124 miles) southeast of the capital Khartoum, is considered to be a major blow to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
This came as the army advanced into the country's second-largest city Omdurman after making steady gains in recent months.
However, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo insisted that the battle was not over. "Today we lost a round, we did not lose the battle," said Dagalo, who is also known as Hemedti.
Located in the center of the country and south of Khartoum, the city is also at "a very important point" through which supplies and other "logistical arrangements" can be made into the capital.
Since the RSF's takeover, it has been one of the sites of the paramilitary force's bloodiest attacks on civilians, as well as the burning of fields and looting of hospitals and markets.
Since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the army and the RSF over control of this North African nation, more than 12 million people have been displaced, creating one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. (end)
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