“This is Omdurman”: Political Statements and Military Plans
Al-Qadarif – Talal Ismail – almohagig
The Chinese embassy in Sudan posted a picture of the headquarters of Omdurman municipality on its official Facebook page with the caption “This is Omdurman” to garner reactions following the Sudanese army’s victory over the Rapid Support Forces militia and the recapture of the radio and television headquarters after inflicting heavy losses on the militia. Political parties and community figures in the country expressed their congratulations and joy after the Sudanese army officially announced its entry into the headquarters of “This is Omdurman.”
The battle in a Nutshell
For several months, the radio and television stations were under siege, as the Sudanese army advanced from several military positions from the Wadi Saydna base towards the old neighbourhoods of Omdurman, blocking the roads to the militia. The army command devised a plan to ensure the safety of the radio and television headquarters, according to military sources, to preserve the memory and history of the Sudanese people within it.
The plan included dragging the militia outside “the three neighbourhoods” while intensifying monitoring operations using drones. The radio and television headquarters is located in a strategic area; to its east flows the Nile River, and to its south, it is surrounded by archaeological landmarks such as the Abd al-Qayyum Gate, the Mahdist Revolution Cemetery from the southeast, and to its west, there are the Omdurman Prison, Dar Al-Umma, Khalifa’s Stables, and the Mahdist Heritage.
On the first of Ramadan, the RSF militia began implementing the withdrawal plan, after the army tightened its grip from all sides. The Nile Street in Omdurman was advanced by men led by Brigadier Anwar al-Zubair, Martyr Ardeib’s brigade, and the Black Arrib’s brigade, while forces from the Engineers Corps came from the south. The RSF militia, according to military sources, gathered combat vehicles in preparation for implementing the escape plan from the siege through the Arda Street with two axes, supported by a third additional force covering the escape operation, according to an army statement.
The RSF militia did not expect the effectiveness of the drones in this manner, which led to the destruction of dozens of vehicles and the capture of the same number, after relying in its plan on drone jamming devices, according to sources. In the early hours of the second day of Ramadan, a special force from the Engineers Corps advanced through the southern axis of the radio, while the drones awaited the exit of the militia, and it was only moments before the combat vehicles turned into ashes, according to footage broadcast by the Sudanese army’s media.
Political Statements
The Umma Party, led by Mubarak al-Mahdi, congratulated the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and through him the Sudanese Armed Forces, other security agencies, and the popular effort on the great victories of the Armed Forces in the national capital, Omdurman, and the liberation of the National Radio and Television Authority, according to a statement received by the Almohagig. He said: “Congratulations extend to the Sudanese people, who have been a strong support for their armed forces and other governmental agencies. They did not find despair and fear a way to them, and they offered convoys of martyrs in the Battle of Dignity against the foreign invasion that uses the terrorist militias of the Dagalo family.” He added, “Our armed forces managed the urban warfare with high professionalism, preserving the lives and properties of citizens and infrastructure, despite the treachery and betrayal of external conspiracy forces that prepared proxies and external airports to seize the Sudanese state.” He affirmed that the liberation of Omdurman city would be the beginning of the collapse and surrender of the terrorist RSF, and the beginning of the failure of its malicious plan, which it seeks through it to bargain for the occupation of homes and civilian lives to gain power and military strength under the cover of a political incubator and regional forces. However, our armed forces and behind them the great Sudanese people are able to thwart the malicious plan, as they thwarted the plan to seize power on 15 April of last year through 35 martyrs of the Presidential Guard who sacrificed their lives for the stability of Sudan.
Also, the Federal Democratic Union “Original” congratulated the Sudanese nation on the liberation of the radio and television from the grip of the rebel militia. The political secretary of the party, Moataz Al-Fahl, said: “The radio and television represent the history and memory of the nation, and what is built on it is an inspiration for a promising future.” “Mercy and forgiveness to the martyrs of the Sudanese Armed Forces battles, speedy recovery for the wounded, and safe return for the missing,” he added.
For his part, the Governor of the Blue Nile State, Ahmed Al-Amoudi Badi, said: “We congratulate you today on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. May Allah bring it back to us and to you with goodness, blessings, and victories, and to our forces with the decisive victory. We are in these blessed days of Ramadan, and our armed forces are engaged in fierce battles with the RSF, which have lost all their strength, and our armed forces are achieving victory after victory until their victories culminated in the liberation of the buildings of the radio and television to be the beginning of what remains of the rebel militia from the national capital and all areas of their concentration.”
He continued: “We congratulate the Sudanese people on this great victory that our armed forces have bestowed upon us. We also extend our warmest congratulations to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and all the components of his war in the armed forces and other governmental agencies who responded to the call of the nation and offered their precious and valuable lives for the sovereignty of Sudan and its people.”
On his part, the President of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Mustafa Tambour, after offering congratulations for the victory, said that the Civil Forces Coordination (Tagadum) led by Abdullah Hamdouk, after failing to reach power through the RSF coup on 15 April, now wants to enter through any dialogue that brings together the RSF with the Sudanese government. He added: “Any talk about a political process before ending the rebellion is premature, and the priority now is to end the RSF rebellion and then the Sudanese will sit down at a round table away from foreign interventions.”
In the same context, Babikir Hamidin, the Governor of Darfur Province and the Minister of Health and Social Welfare in the Darfur Province Government, applauded the efforts made by the armed forces in liberating the radio and television building.
Hamidin congratulated the armed forces, the General Intelligence Service, the other regular forces, the Sudan Liberation Movement forces, and the mobilized forces in general, and the Sudanese people on the occasion of the great victory achieved in recapturing the Sudanese Radio and Television building, where the armed forces and all its components presented an honourable history showing the courage of the Sudanese soldier and the genius of its leaders in managing the battle. He pointed out that the important recapture of the radio has shown great importance because it is considered the memory of the Sudanese people and carries their cultural and creative heritage.
