Military operations escalated in the Blue Nile region near Sudan's border with Ethiopia, and violent battles took place between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in the eastern axis of Kurmuk Governorate. In conjunction with movements at the political and diplomatic levels to push towards stopping the war and launching a political process.
Military sources said that the army and the Rapid Support Forces fought a fierce battle, on Saturday, near the Jabal Kadam area in the eastern axis of Kurmuk Governorate, whose capital is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, and that the army was able to repel an attack on its positions in the region.
On Sunday, the leadership of the Army's 4th Infantry Division announced the implementation of a military operation in "Jabal Kaddam," and said that it had inflicted heavy losses on the ranks of the attacking force and its equipment, and had seized 17 vehicles and destroyed 5 other vehicles.
It was not possible to obtain a comment from the Rapid Support Forces, and it was not possible to independently verify the size of the losses announced by the army.
The confrontations come in light of the escalation of military activity on the eastern axis of the city of Kurmuk, which is close to the Ethiopian border. On Sunday, the 4th Infantry Division announced that its air defenses shot down what it described as an “enemy strategic drone” while it was flying over the Baling area on the same axis.
The division's media office said that the drone entered from the direction of the Ethiopian border before the air defenses dealt with it and shot it down, without specifying its type, or providing additional details about the party that launched it.
The Blue Nile region has recently witnessed an escalation in military confrontations, especially in the areas adjacent to the Ethiopian border, at a time when both sides of the war are seeking to strengthen their positions in the region.
In conjunction with the field escalation, international and political contacts regarding the war intensified. On Saturday, the President of the Sovereignty Council and Army Commander, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, met with the British Special Envoy to Sudan, Richard Crowder, in Khartoum, in the presence of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muawiyah Othman Khaled.
Crowder said after the meeting that the priority is to stop the war, protect civilians, and end human suffering, noting the extent of the destruction caused to vital and service facilities, and the displacement of large numbers of Sudanese to neighboring countries.
The British envoy referred to the report of the International Fact-Finding Committee and its contents regarding violations of international humanitarian law, external interference in the conflict and the recruitment of foreign fighters.
He explained that ending the crisis requires a dialogue led by the Sudanese through a “comprehensive and transparent” political process that reflects the vision of the Sudanese at home and abroad, expressing his country’s welcome of the Sudanese initiatives.
Crowder added that the Sudan crisis will be present at the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York in the coming days.
In Cairo, a delegation from the Civil Democratic Alliance for Revolutionary Forces (Samoud) met on Saturday with the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, following the visit of the Five-Year Mechanism mission to Khartoum.
The coalition said that Haavisto provided the delegation with a briefing on the results of the visit, and that the two sides discussed developments in the situation and efforts aimed at ending the war and moving towards a political path.
The “Resilience” coalition expressed its willingness to continue engaging with the five-party mechanism, but renewed its reservations about some aspects of its performance and the way in which its consultations are managed, demanding that its role be limited to facilitating the political process, and that the political path be designed in consultation with civil forces and with clear criteria for participation.
The coalition led by former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok expressed reservations about the proposed dialogue inside Sudan, saying that holding a dialogue in light of the continuation of war and division and in a political environment imposed by one of the parties to the conflict, according to him, cannot represent the required national process.
He called for a process based on three simultaneous tracks, including addressing the humanitarian situation, a ceasefire, and launching a political track to address the roots of the crisis.
According to the “Sumud” statement, during the meeting, Haavisto stressed that there is no military solution to the Sudanese crisis, and called for a cessation of hostilities to allow the protection of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid, indicating that the five-party mechanism will continue its consultations with the Sudanese forces to agree on the design of the political process.
