Sudan's army has acknowledged moving its forces out of Sali in Blue Nile, while the Tasis alliance says it has gone on to take the Al-Kayli and Kilo 6 area. Local sources say drone strikes on the state capital, Ed Damazin, killed two civilians.
The Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasis) said on Wednesday 4 November that its forces had taken the "Al-Kili – Kilo 6" area and several other strategic military sites in Blue Nile, which the alliance calls New Fung. According to Radio Dabanga and the Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) own website, the statement listed captured equipment including ammunition, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, tanks, anti-drone missiles, drones and mortar rounds. It urged soldiers in the region to surrender and promised them safety and humane treatment "in accordance with international laws and conventions". The statement described the army as the "Muslim Brotherhood militia".
The Sudan Times said footage published by the Sudanese outlet Rhino appeared to show RSF fighters announcing control of Al-Kayli. The paper said the footage's date and location had not been established. Al-Kayli lies on the military corridor between Ed Damazin and Kurmuk, near the Ethiopian border, and has changed hands before: Tasis claimed it in April, and the army said it had retaken it in May.
The army's account
The army has acknowledged repositioning its forces outside Sali, the base Tasis said it captured on 3 November, The Sudan Times and Sudan Tribune reported. A military source told Ultra Sudan, as quoted by Sudan Echoes, that the withdrawal was planned to draw the attackers into exposed ground where aircraft and artillery could strike them. The source said the attackers had suffered heavy losses before the pull-back. Neither side has given verifiable casualty figures.
Drone strikes on Ed Damazin
Sudan Tribune reported a heavy drone attack on Ed Damazin, the state capital, lasting from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the second consecutive night of strikes. Witnesses heard explosions between 10.24pm and 3.35am, and military sources said air defences intercepted successive waves. Electricity was cut during the attack.
According to Radio Dabanga, local sources said the strikes on Tuesday evening killed a woman and a young man and wounded others in the El Zahour, army barracks and El Ziraa El Aliya areas. The Blue Nile Civil Society Initiative named the woman as Ilham Ali Shikan, a mother of three. It blamed the RSF and its ally, the SPLM-N. Blue Nile's governor, Ahmed El Omda, condemned the attacks. CERHA found no response from the RSF or the SPLM-N about the strikes.
Port Sudan accuses Ethiopia of letting the RSF operate from its territory near Blue Nile, which Addis Ababa denies (see our report on the consulate closures).
Image: A street in Ed Damazin, capital of Blue Nile state, Sudan, 2019. Ola.mahadi, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.