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Desert Axis Clash
Sudan’s Joint Force of Armed Movements, operating in coordination with the Sudanese army and the Popular Resistance, said it destroyed 49 combat vehicles belonging to the Rapid Support Forces and captured 70 fighters during clashes in the desert front on Sunday.
“destroyed 49 combat vehicles belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and captured 70 fighters”
Anadolu Ajansı reported that Joint Force spokesperson Mutawakil Ali Wakeel said in a statement that the operation eliminated a mobile RSF convoy, and that the group also seized 30 vehicles in good condition along with a fuel tanker.
The same Anadolu Ajansı account said the clashes inflicted heavy losses in personnel and equipment on the paramilitary group, and that four members of the Joint Force were killed in the fighting.
The Anadolu Ajansı report placed the fighting within a wider war between the army and the RSF that has been ongoing since April 2023, and it said the desert front covers areas across northern and western Sudan extending to the borders with Chad and Libya.
In a separate report, أخبار السعودية described the Desert محور (Desert axis/Desert front) as a main supply line and a vital passage for troop and equipment movements, saying control of the axis would tighten smuggling and cross-border logistical support operations.
Claims, Captures, and Losses
In the Joint Force’s account carried by Anadolu Ajansı, Mutawakil Ali Wakeel said the operation resulted in the destruction of 49 combat vehicles and the seizure of 30 vehicles in good condition, “along with a fuel tanker,” while an assessment of the operation was continuing.
The أخبار الغد report likewise said the Joint Forces allied with the Sudanese army destroyed 49 combat vehicles and captured 70 elements of the Rapid Support Forces during clashes in the Desert Axis, and it attributed the operation to targeting a moving convoy.
أخبار الغد also stated that Captain Mutoqil Ali Wakil said the forces managed to seize 30 good-condition cars and a fuel truck, and it added that the statement indicated the death of 4 members of the Joint Forces during the clashes.
Anadolu Ajansı said the RSF had issued no immediate comment on the report, while أخبار الغد similarly noted that there had been no immediate comment from the Rapid Support Forces on the Joint Forces’ announcement.
Across the accounts, the Joint Force said it also seized batteries used to operate drones, with Anadolu Ajansı saying the seizure of “a large number of batteries used to operate drones” restricted RSF aerial capabilities in that area.
Humanitarian Deterioration
While the Joint Force described battlefield gains in the Desert Axis, أخبار السعودية and Ilke Haber Ajansı both linked the fighting to warnings of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe for displaced people in Blue Nile state.
“more than 6,000 displaced people are enduring harsh conditions and living in the open in the Wad Madani area”
أخبار السعودية quoted Biten (Batoul) Sadiq, an emergency official at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Blue Nile state, saying “more than 6,000 displaced people are enduring harsh conditions and living in the open in the Wad Madani area,” as waves of displaced people continued fleeing Qisan.
Ilke Haber Ajansı similarly reported that Battoul Sadiq said “More than 6,000 displaced people are living in the open in the Wad Madani area,” and it added that 10 displacement camps suffer severe overcrowding and a shortage of aid, with deteriorating health conditions and a spread of cholera.
Both reports tied the health crisis to attacks on medical facilities, with أخبار السعودية saying the Sudanese Doctors Network spokesperson Muhammad Faisal Hassan affirmed that hospitals and medical centers have been shelled or attacked and some turned into military barracks.
Anadolu Ajansı also placed the Desert Axis fighting within a broader pattern of clashes across Blue Nile state, Darfur, and the three Kordofan states since Oct. 25, and it said Sudan has been engulfed in war since April 2023, killing tens of thousands and displacing around 13 million people.