Sudanese army tightens noose around Wad Madani
December 4, 2024 (WAD MADANI) – The Sudanese army and allied forces continued their offensive Wednesday to reclaim Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state. They advanced from the southwest and east against the entrenched Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Sources told Sudan Tribune that the army, supported by a joint force of allied militias and the Sudan Shield Forces under the command of Abu Aqla Kakil, seized control of the town of Wad al-Mahdi and its strategic bridge on the Wad Madani-Gadarif road, approximately 12 miles east of the state capital.
The Wad al-Mahdi resistance committees released a statement confirming the army’s success: “The armed forces managed this afternoon to liberate and recover the Wad al-Mahdi area and bridge from the militia.”
Local sources indicate that residents have largely deserted Wad al-Mahdi since the RSF occupied the town and the Umm al-Qura local government headquarters.
Eyewitnesses along the western Khartoum-Wad Madani road told Sudan Tribune they observed an RSF convoy travelling from Khartoum late Tuesday, apparently bringing reinforcements to the embattled forces in Al Jazirah state.
On the western front, sources reported that the army, advancing from Al Manaqil, reached and secured Bridges 57, 91, and Al-Mukhairef. These bridges span key irrigation canals within the Al Jazirah agricultural project and are located to the south and west of Wad Madani.
This westward push follows a visit Tuesday by the army’s deputy commander-in-chief, Shams al-Din Kabashi, to Al Manaqil. Kabashi, accompanied by Muhammad Abbas al-Labeeb, deputy director of the General Intelligence Service, and Mu’tasim Abdullah, deputy director of the defence industries system, inspected troops and military installations.
Two days prior, the army made significant gains, reaching the Umm al-Qura local government headquarters, roughly 25 miles east of Wad Madani, and capturing the West Sennar Sugar Factory, approximately 37 miles south of the state capital.
The RSF seized control of Wad Madani in December 2023, subsequently expanding their presence southward to Sennar state.