Sudan army general visits key battleground north of Khartoum as fighting eases

September 29, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – A top Sudanese general visited a military zone north of Khartoum on Sunday. The army has recaptured the strategic area in recent days as part of a major offensive to retake the capital from paramilitary rivals.

Lt. Gen. Yasser al-Atta, assistant to the army chief, inspected troops and defences in the Kadaru military zone, accompanied by Maj. Gen. Mohamed Abbas al-Labeeb, deputy director of the General Intelligence Service. Their visit followed a successful army push across the Nile River from Omdurman into Khartoum and Bahri, linking up with forces in Kadaru.

“The army has inflicted heavy losses on the enemy on all fronts in recent days,” General al-Atta told soldiers, adding that the war had expanded beyond the capital to include Al Jazirah state and pockets of resistance in White Nile, North Kordofan, and Darfur. He also announced the arrival of new weapons shipments in Port Sudan, including anti-aircraft guns and heavy artillery.

Despite the general’s assurances, fighting continued Sunday, albeit at a reduced intensity. Artillery exchanges were reported along Al-Maouna Street, a major thoroughfare in Bahri, where the army attempts to advance south toward Shambat.

The paramilitary group battling the army, the Rapid Support Forces, claimed to have repelled an army advance on Shambat. They inflicted “a crushing defeat” on government forces near the Khartoum oil refinery north of the capital. However, local sources reported that the army withdrew from the refinery area after briefly retaking it on Saturday.

Residents in Halfaya, north of Bahri, reported that the army had consolidated its control over the area and was conducting house-to-house searches. The army urged civilians to remain indoors for their safety.

Clashes and shelling were reported in Khartoum’s Al-Muqrin district, west of the city centre, where army units crossed the White Nile River from Omdurman.