JEM faction sides with Sudan army, plans to break El Fasher siege
April 24, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – An armed faction that split from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)-Sandal announced on Wednesday the formation of an operations room dedicated to breaking the siege on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
The announcement came just days after the faction declared it would fight alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The group, led by Mohamed Bashara Yahya, announced its split from a JEM faction led by Suleiman Sandal on February 16, dissolving previous structures and tasking its military leadership with managing affairs, according to faction statements.
Sudan’s head of state and SAF commander, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met with the new faction’s leaders, including Yahya, in Port Sudan on April 20. Following the meeting, he confirmed the group’s allegiance to the SAF.
“We agreed during the meeting with Burhan to join the Battle of Dignity [the SAF’s term for the war],” Yahya told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday. “Subsequently, an operations room was formed to coordinate the battle to break the siege on El Fasher.”
He stated that the forces designated for the operation would deploy “in the coming days.”
El Fasher has been under a tightening siege by the RSF for nearly a year, severely restricting food and medical supplies. Conditions have deteriorated to the point where residents injured in shelling attacks resort to using salt as an antiseptic and cloth for bandages, according to reports from the city.
Explaining the split with Sandal, Yahya cited organizational disputes, including Sandal’s alleged failure to visit field commands, his purported support for the RSF, and his signing of a charter to establish a parallel government in RSF-controlled areas.
He stressed that signing the charter for the parallel government “is a step that contributes to dividing the country and complicates Sudan’s crisis through regional intervention.”
He asserted that his faction includes the movement’s Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff, field commanders, executive office members, and its armed forces.
Sandal, meanwhile, joined other armed groups, political figures, and civil representatives in signing a political charter that established the “Tasis” (Foundation) Coalition. This coalition has endorsed a transitional constitution, laying the groundwork for a parallel administration in RSF-held territories, expected to be formally announced soon.