KHARTOUM - The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control over the city of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state and Sudan's second largest city, is considered a shift in the war that has been going on for about 7 months, and they said that the RSF will likely move to form an authority in the west of the country along the lines of the model of eastern Libya, if the ongoing negotiations between the army and the RSF do not achieve a settlement that ends the crisis.
Nyala is the country's second largest city after the capital Khartoum in terms of population and economic weight, has an international airport linking it with neighboring African countries, and is the first military division head in the Darfur region controlled by the Rapid Support Forces.
The importance of Nyala also stems from its strategic location, as it borders Central African countries, Chad and South Sudan, and has the largest gold mines in the Darfur region of the "Sungo" region.
South Darfur state is a stronghold of the Social Incubator for Rapid Support, along with the adjacent state of East Darfur, and is home to tribal groups that have declared their alignment with it, and from it hails a large segment of the forces facing the army in Khartoum, and belongs to Nyala, senior negotiator of the Rapid Support Forces, Omar Hamdan.
The command of the 16th Infantry Division in Nyala is the head of the army's western region command in the Darfur region, where a number of battalions are located, including artillery, engineers and the armored corps.
The RSF broadcast a number of videos showing RSF deputy commander Abderrahim Dagalo and a large number of RSF soldiers touring positions within the 16th Infantry Division.
Activists posted videos on Saturday showing the looting of the main Nyala market, the destruction of shops and cars carrying goods, and residents of some neighborhoods in the city reported cases of looting and looting of homes by fighters wearing rapid support uniforms.
Nyala witnessed fierce battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (French)
Civil Administration of Nyala
Abdul Rahim Dagalo announced on Saturday the completion of his forces' control of the city of Nyala, and formed a civilian and military administration to manage the city, and called on those displaced to return to their homes, and pledged to protect them.
Abdiraheem Dagalo, commander of the South Darfur Rapid Support Sector, assigned Saleh al-Foti to the duties of commander of the 16th Infantry Division and its units in the position held by army division commander Major General Hussein Jawdat.
Major General Bashir Adam Issa was also assigned the duties of director of the police forces, and ordered the opening of police headquarters, prosecutions and courts, the maintenance of water and electricity stations, the restoration of communications and internet services, the formation of committees for services and cleanliness of the city, the operation of hospitals, and the opening of markets.
He announced the formation of a joint force of rapid support and the forces of the armed struggle movements, and directed his forces to arrest the leaders and symbols of the former regime, treat them as prisoners and bring them to justice.
Commander of the 16th Infantry Division in charge of Nyala reassures the citizens of South Darfur after the liberation of the state from the remnants of #Democracy_Battle#حراس_الثورة_المجيدة pic.twitter.com/gfVp6c1E9U
— Rapid Support Forces (RSF) (@RSFSudan) October 28, 2023
Withdrawal to rearrange
There was no comment from the Sudanese army on the situation in Nyala, but a military official in the Ministry of Defense tells Al Jazeera Net, "The army forces withdrew in an orderly manner from their headquarters in central Nyala to outside the city with their heavy and light weapons after they remained trapped for several days and the approach of running out of ammunition, supplies and treatment."
The military official, who preferred not to be identified, said Nyala was attacked by the RSF with more than 400 fighting vehicles and thousands of fighters on cars and motorcycles.
He stressed that the thousands of forces that attacked the city were mercenaries from Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Niger, noting that the aspects of the war are "attack, advance, defense and withdrawal".
During the last three days of successive waves of attacks, the army has cost the "RSF rebels" more than 750 deaths, destroying dozens of vehicles and weapons and ammunition, he said, describing the actions of the commander, officers and soldiers of the 16th Division as a rare act of heroism in extremely complex circumstances.
Second Commander of the Rapid Support Forces visits Quran cells in South Darfur state and pledges to care for students#معركة_الديمقراطية #حراس_الثورة_المجيدة pic.twitter.com/MvDVGapkdO
— Rapid Support Forces (RSF) (@RSFSudan) October 28, 2023
Impact on negotiation
Military expert retired Major General Mazen Mohammed Ismail believes that the RSF's control of Nyala will have an impact on the ongoing negotiations at the Jeddah platform between the two parties to the fighting, and will push for a gradual settlement between them from the humanitarian track and a ceasefire so that it is easier to pass.
Ismail is likely, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the Rapid Support Command will go to form an authority in Nyala (western Sudan) in exchange for the government mandated by the President of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, which is based in Port Sudan, the capital of the Red Sea State (eastern Sudan) as a temporary headquarters.
It is believed that the RSC will use power formation as a card in negotiations for power-sharing in Khartoum, or a Libyan-style political division if it does not reach a "deal" with the army to share power, making Nyala a tool to impose a political path at the negotiating table.
No tendency to separate
Advisor to the commander of the Rapid Support Pasha Muhammad Tabiq said that their control of Nyala is part of the "operational plan" to liberate a number of military sites, including the control of some of the heads of the army military divisions in the provinces in the coming days.
And their direction to Darfur after despair of seizing power in Khartoum, says Tabiq to the island net they control more than 90% of Khartoum, and besiege the headquarters of the army and the headquarters of the signal corps in Khartoum North and engineers in Omdurman, as they besiege the fifth division of the army in the white capital of North Kordofan state.
He stresses that they do not seek to apply the Libyan or Yemeni model or divide Sudan after taking control of Nyala, and that they went to the Jeddah negotiations in appreciation of the conditions of the Sudanese people, and in response to the invitation of Saudi-American mediation.
Tubaiq added that the Jeddah platform seeks an agreement on a ceasefire, opening humanitarian pathways to provide aid to those affected by the war, and facilitating the return of citizens who left their homes.
He pointed out that the RSF seeks a comprehensive reform of the state's military and civilian institutions to address the accumulated mistakes that have been practiced by political elites since the country's independence, and "we will not allow Sudan to be torn apart and dismantled into states."