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| the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support |
Violent battles have been taking place since Friday morning between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in the Khartoum Bahri area, one of the areas of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, according to eyewitnesses.
Eyewitnesses said that violent clashes took place between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum Bahri, noting that violent battles with various weapons were taking place between the army and the support forces, east of the "Halfaya Bridge", the link between Khartoum Bahri and Omdurman.
Eyewitnesses added that Sudanese army aviation bombed a convoy of the Rapid Support Forces that was on its way to enter Khartoum Bahri.
The Sudanese army bombed the Khartoum Bahri area with heavy artillery, according to eyewitnesses, who spoke of a fierce battle being waged by the army against the Rapid Support Forces in the region.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the Sudanese army crossed the Halfaya Bridge linking Omdurman and Khartoum Bahri, and that army aviation bombed rapid support gatherings in Khartoum Bahri.
Sudanese Armed Forces
The Sudanese Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the forces' numbers at 109,300 personnel.
The CIA estimates that the SAF may have up to 200,000 personnel.
In 2016–2017, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces RSF had 40,000 members participating in the Yemeni Civil War of which 10,000 returned to Sudan by October 2019.
The outbreak of the ongoing war in the country saw the SAF and RSF fighting each other
RSF has its roots in the Janjaweed militias used by the Sudanese Government in its attempts to fight the anti-government insurgency during the War in Darfur.
RSF was officially formed in 2013, following a restructuring and reactivation of Janjaweed militias in order to combat rebel groups in Darfur region, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile states, following joint attacks by Sudanese Revolutionary Front rebels in North and South Kordofan in April 2013.
The origins of the Sudanese army can be traced to six battalions of black soldiers from southern Sudan, recruited by the British during the reconquest of Sudan in 1898.
Sudan officially became the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899. The highest-ranking British officer in Egypt, known as the Sirdar, also served as Governor General of the Sudan.
In 1922, after nationalist riots stimulated by Egyptian leader Saad Zaghloul, Egypt was granted independence by the United Kingdom. The Egyptians wanted more oversight in the Sudan and created specialized units of Sudanese auxiliaries within the Egyptian Army called Al-Awtirah. This became the nucleus of the modern Sudanese Army.
The British Army formed the Sudan Defence Force SDF as local auxiliaries in 1925. The SDF consisted of a number of separate regiments.
Most were made up of Muslim soldiers and stationed in the north, but the Equatoria Corps in the south was composed of Christians.
During the Second World War, the SDF augmented allied forces engaging Italians in Ethiopia.
They also served during the Western Desert Campaign, supporting Free French and Long Range Desert Group operations at Kufra and Jalo oases in the Libyan Desert. "In 1947, the Sudanese military schools were closed, and the number of Sudanese troops was reduced to 7,570." In 1948, the first Arab-Israeli War broke out. Sudanese Colonel Harold Saleh Al-Malik selected 250 combat-seasoned soldiers who had seen action in World War II.
They arrived in Cairo to participate in a parade and were then dispatched to various units of the Egyptian army. This was a grave mistake, for the Sudanese had fought together in World War II and this broke unit cohesion.
The decision was indicative of Egyptian military planners of the period. Forty-three Sudanese were killed in action in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1953, the British and the new Egyptian government reached an agreement that Sudan was to be put on the path of independence. General Ahmed Mohammed became Sudan's first army chief in August 1954.
This is significant for the Sudanese, for it was the first time it had an independent army that was not governed by Britain or Egypt.
Rapid Support Forces
The Rapid Support Forces is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the Government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government.Its actions in Darfur qualify as crimes against humanity in the opinion of Human Rights Watch.
RSF has been administered by the National Intelligence and Security Service, while during military operations it has been commanded by the Sudanese Armed Forces.
As of June 2019, the commander is General Hemedti Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
During the Sudanese political crisis of 2019, the military junta that took control of the country employed RSF to violently crack down on pro-democracy demonstrators.Along with other security forces, RSF carried out the Khartoum massacre on 3 June 2019.
On 15 April 2023, fighting broke out between RSF and the SAF after RSF mobilized its forces in cities across Sudan, including in Darfur.
SAF has designated RSF a rebel group. RSF forces claim to have occupied Khartoum International Airport and other areas in Khartoum.
RSF has its roots in the Janjaweed militias used by the Sudanese Government in its attempts to fight the anti-government insurgency during the War in Darfur.
RSF was officially formed in 2013, following a restructuring and reactivation of Janjaweed militias in order to combat rebel groups in Darfur region, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile states, following joint attacks by Sudanese Revolutionary Front rebels in North and South Kordofan in April 2013
RSF is headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemedti"), who has been its leader since it was created in 2013 or 2014. As of September 2019, Hemetti's brother Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo is deputy head of RSF.
RSF was estimated by Human Rights Watch as having about 5,000–6,000 soldiers in February 2014 in Darfur.
In 2016–2017, RSF had 40,000 members participating in the Yemeni Civil War. In late October 2019, 10,000 had returned to Sudan.
In July 2019, about 1,000 RSF soldiers were present in Libya, supporting the Libyan National Army commanded by Khalifa Haftar.
According to Reuters, as of 2023, the force numbers 100,000 people.
