Sudanese Army Takes Control Near Al Karmak After Battles With RSF, Popular Movement-North

The Sudanese army announced on Saturday that it took control of an area on the outskirts of Al Karmak city in Blue Nile State after battles with the Rapid Support Forces and the allied Popular Movement-North.

“The Sudanese army announced on Saturday that it had taken control of an area on the outskirts of the city of al-Karmak in Blue Nile state, in the southeast of the country, after battles with the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North allied with it”

Al-Jazeera Net

In its statement, the army said the forces of the Fourth Infantry Division and supporting forces succeeded in liberating Al Keili area on the southern axis of Al Karmak after “heroic battles against the Rapid Support Forces militia and the Popular Movement North forces.”

Al-Jazeera Net

The army added that the “rebel militia” suffered heavy losses in lives and equipment while those who remained fled in the face of the army’s strikes.

It said the Fourth Infantry Division continues military operations until “the complete purification of the areas of responsibility, defeating the rebellion, securing the borders, and enhancing security and stability.”

The fighting has been escalating for weeks in Blue Nile State, and the Rapid Support Forces had announced control of the Keili area on April 25.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resumed operations from its main headquarters in Khartoum, field conditions in Blue Nile moved toward further escalation driven by military mobilizations and increasing movements by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North.

The Blue Nile Humanitarian Emergency Room said estimates based on data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated about 73,406 displaced people arrived in Damazin and surrounding areas after attacks on Kurmuk.

Al-Yawm as-Sābiʿ

The statement described the humanitarian conditions as “extremely harsh,” citing acute shortages of food and drinking water, overcrowding in shelters, and lack of adequate shelter.

It also said the waves of displacement occurred under complex circumstances as families were forced to flee and leave their homes and belongings.

In related news, the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North seized the city of Kurmuk on March 24, and the Emergency Chamber urged humanitarian organizations to move immediately to provide urgent food aid, support water and sanitation services, and basic shelter materials.

The significance of Karmak, about 136 kilometers from Damazin, is tied to its role as a security belt around vital centers, foremost among them the Roseires Dam.

“Summary The Sudanese army has intensified air strikes and drone operations against gatherings of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Karomk and in the southern part of the region, amid reports that reinforcements were moving toward the city that hosts the headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division”

Andbndnt Arabiya

Sky News Arabic said the region’s importance also has a military dimension because it links Sudan with Ethiopia and South Sudan, and it described the Blue Nile region as a major focus for both sides since the outbreak of fighting between the army and the RSF in mid-April 2023.

It reported that the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, announced control of the strategic town of Karmak after advancing into several towns in the region for more than a month and a half.

The Independent Arabic said the Sudanese army accused Ethiopia of complicity by allowing RSF and SPLM-North to launch attacks on Karomk from inside Ethiopian territory, specifically from the Asosa area in the Benishangul-Gumuz region.

It added that the Sudanese army statement renewed its accusation of an “organized cross-border aggression,” while also describing satellite reconnaissance that confirms the existence of RSF training camps near Asosa.