Sudanese army forced to withdraw from Nyala due to supply shortage: military
October 28, 2023 (NYALA) – Sudanese soldiers were forced to abandon the army’s largest strategic military base in western Sudan on Saturday due to a lack of supplies, said a Sudanese military official on Saturday.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the 16th Infantry Division Command in Nyala on October 26, the same day that ceasefire talks resumed in Jeddah.
The official who requested anonymity said that the soldiers and officers of the 16th Division had been fighting continuously for 194 days without receiving supplies while repelling attacks by thousands of tribal militants and RSF soldiers. He added that the situation worsened in the last three days before the fall of the 16th Division headquarters when the RSF arrived in areas near the command and destroyed advanced positions that the army had established surrounding the camp.
“Due to the continuous attack and the intensification of the fire inside the command, ammunition, especially for the cannons, ran out,” the official said. “Water was cut off for three days, and medical supplies ran out, even gauze to treat wounds. The medical weapons doctors accompanying the soldiers had nothing left, so they were forced to withdraw with what remained of their soldiers and military vehicles.”
The official said that the entire force of the 16th Division withdrew with the help of a joint force of armed movements that secured the way for them. He refused to reveal the destination of the force.
Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that they saw large numbers of army vehicles crossing Balil locality, east of Nyala, and others said that they saw army forces withdrawing from North Darfur state.
A government official in North Darfur refused to comment on the possibility of soldiers from the 16th Infantry Division arriving in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
Fears of RSF expansion
There are fears that the RSF’s control of Nyala will lead to its expansion to other states. Nyala is a strategic city with an international airport and borders adjacent to Central Africa, making it a prime location for supply and support.
Journalist Issa Dafallah, a resident of Nyala, told Sudan Tribune that the fall of the state capital into the hands of the RSF means that mobilization operations will continue, leading to an influx of fighters to Khartoum and other Sudanese cities in larger numbers. He also warned of the danger of a second round of war if the negotiations between the military and the armed movements collapse.
Dafallah said that after the army withdrawal from the city last Thursday, the RSF looted all the neighbourhoods they had not reached before, storming homes, killing and looting under the pretext of searching for “remnants” of the former regime.
He noted that this development coincided with RSF commander Abdel Rahim Daglo addressing the public outside the army command in Nyala. During his address, Daglo committed to ensuring the safe return of civilians and issued orders to his fighters not to engage in attacks or looting in residential areas.
Human rights defenders said they fear that RSF’s expansion into South Darfur is likely to lead to further violence and displacement. They pointed out that RSF undisciplined fighters have a history of targeting civilians and committing atrocities.
(ST)