Sudan army repels attack on Amora station, foiling plan to cut off Qaisan
May 29, Ad-Damazin — The Sudanese Armed Forces announced on Thursday that they had repelled a new attack by the RSF and SPLM-N alliance on the Amora station in Qaisan district, Blue Nile region, thwarting what military sources described as a plan to sever supply lines to the border town of Qaisan and ultimately seize it.
The Fourth Infantry Division said in a statement that the 13th Infantry Brigade, based in Kuri in the Eastern Sector, repelled an attack on the Amora station launched by RSF forces and SPLM-N fighters under the command of Joseph Tuka. The army said it destroyed a number of combat vehicles and captured others in working condition.
Military sources told Sudan Tribune that the attack on Amora — located northeast of Qaisan — was designed to cut military supply lines between the 13th Brigade in Kuri and the town of Qaisan, which borders Ethiopia. They said that severing this supply route would allow rebel forces based inside Ethiopian territory to advance and seize Qaisan.
Sudan accuses neighbouring Ethiopia of providing logistical support to the rebel alliance operating in Blue Nile, a region that also borders South Sudan.
The army has been on the offensive across Qaisan district in recent days. On Wednesday it repelled an RSF-SPLM-N attack on the Al-Barka station south of Kurmuk, and on Tuesday announced control over four areas in Qaisan district north of Kurmuk.
The RSF and SPLM-N seized Kurmuk — another strategic border town with Ethiopia — in March, following the activation of the southern Blue Nile front in February. Fighting between the army and the rebel alliance has been ongoing in the Kurmuk and Qaisan districts since then.
Kurmuk and Qaisan have a long history of conflict. Before the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudanese government and the SPLM led by John Garang, the two towns were contested for 22 years, changing hands multiple times between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.