Sudan’s militia vow to intensify attacks on South Kordofan rebels

May 4, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese militia field commander Monday announced the arrival of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to the South Kordofan and vowed to intensify attacks on the rebel positions in the war-torn state.

Last Saturday, Sudanese president travelled to the field battle to celebrate the victory of RSF militiamen on the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in South Darfur state. Also, the local media continue to broadcast programmes about the event suggesting it is a turning point in the history of Darfur rebellion.

In statements to Ashorooq TV, RSF field commander Mohamed Hamdan Hametti said his troops are advancing in South Kordofan state after al-Nikhara battle, and added that Sudanese people “would hear happy news in the next few days”.

Hametti said that the “Decisive Summer” campaign will reach its ends, stressing that the conflict areas in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile “will enjoy security and stability soon”.

Analysts in Khartoum say the recent military developments in Darfur region would strengthen the position of hardliners within the regime who refuse negotiations with the armed groups before to weaken the insurgency.

Following, a meeting held on Monday to discuss the elections outcome and the steps forward, the National Congress Party (NCP) political secretary Mustafa Osman Ismail stressed the ruling party’s commitment to the national dialogue as a “fundamental instrument” for achieving stability in Sudan.

Nonetheless he pointed that “strengthening national apparatuses to deter any attempts by the armed groups” was also considered in the meeting which was attended by the presidential assistant and NCP deputy chairman Ibrahim Ghandour.

He said that the date of the internal national dialogue process would be determined following the sworn in ceremony of the re-elected president Omer al-Bashir.

The Sudanese presidency did not yet announce the date of the ceremony which should be attended by a number of foreign heads of state and government.

For his part, South Kordofan governor Adam al-Faki confirmed the arrival of the RSF militiamen to his state and said they are “ready to carry out effective operations” to restore stability in a number of troubled areas in the state.

Al-Faki who was speaking after a meeting with the defence minister said the initiative now in the hands of the Sudanese army, adding that more efforts would be done in the upcoming period to expand security during the rest of the summer season.

During the past April, the SPLM-N rebels intensified their attacks on the government positions in a bid to hinder the general elections in the state.

(ST)