Sudanese army announces ground campaign to 'eliminate' paramilitary forces

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Tuesday announced the beginning of a ground campaign to march on the Sudanese capital to "eliminate" the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"The army has begun a campaign. All the (military) areas are ready, and we will march in all directions," Yasir Al-Atta, the SAF's assistant commander-in-chief, addressed soldiers and officers of Omdurman Military Area.

Al-Atta commended the efforts and support of the Sudanese people for the armed forces to preserve the entity of Sudan and defeat the RSF, accusing some regional and international countries and organizations of supporting the RSF.

A senior Sudanese army officer was quoted on Tuesday by Sudan's Al-Sudani newspaper website as saying that "the SAF has inflicted heavy losses of lives and equipment."

Drones and heavy artillery strikes were launched on Tuesday in Bahri, Omdurman and Khartoum, destroying 35 RSF positions, while the army's special forces conducted qualitative operations on the militia pockets in the Jabra neighborhood of Khartoum and Omdurman, the officer said.

Meanwhile, video clips posted on social media on Tuesday showed heavy columns of smoke rising in the neighborhoods of eastern Khartoum due to continued battles between the SAF and RSF in Khartoum.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the SAF and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, which have killed up to 9,000 people by October, forced more than 6 million displaced within and outside Sudan, and left 25 million in need of aid, according to the latest Sudan situation report issued on November 12 by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

(Cover: A damaged house that was hit by an artillery shell in southern Khartoum, capital of Sudan, June 11, 2023. /CFP)