Sennar returns to cautious calm after RSF attack repelled
June 26, 2024 (SENNAR) – A tense calm has settled over the city of Sennar in southeastern Sudan following a night of terror as Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched an incursion near the city. The Sudanese army successfully repelled the attack, inflicting heavy casualties and seizing military equipment.
On Tuesday evening, RSF forces advanced on the outskirts of Sennar, targeting army positions in the Al-Arab area north of the city. The army, supported by intelligence units and Popular Resistance forces, ultimately defeated the RSF, resulting in significant losses of life and weaponry.
The following day, the Sudanese army displayed civilian vehicles and artillery allegedly used and subsequently captured from the RSF during the attack. The Sennar garrison commander, addressing a military gathering, declared that Sennar had taught the enemy a harsh lesson and that a substantial number of RSF fighters had been killed.
In a related development, the spokesman for the Popular Resistance, Ammar Hassan Ammar, announced on Facebook the elimination of an RSF unit attempting to reinforce besieged forces in the Jabal Moya area. The unit’s commander, a lieutenant colonel, was reportedly killed in the operation.
Sudanese army units had been dispatched from the neighbouring White Nile state to take part in the combats against the RSF forces.
The attack on Sennar occurred a day after the RSF seized control of the strategic Jabal Moya area, a key link between Sennar, Al Jazirah, and White Nile states.
The escalating conflict has sparked widespread fear and panic among Sennar’s residents, with many fleeing to the city centre or neighbouring towns. The Sudanese army has urged citizens to remain in their homes and has reportedly closed the road to Singa, redirecting evacuees to the town of Mayerno.
Despite the return to relative calm and the cessation of artillery fire, the city remains on edge, with many residents continuing to seek refuge in Gedaref state. A fuel crisis has also emerged, with black market traders exploiting the situation to inflate prices amidst the closure of petrol stations.
The RSF’s control of Al Jazirah state since late last year has facilitated their expansion southwards, resulting in the occupation of several villages in western Sennar and widespread human rights abuses against civilians, including killings, looting, arrests, and forced displacement.