Sudan army commander calls for public participation in mobilisation against RSF

A senior Sudanese army officer urged citizens on Wednesday to respond to Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s call to join a nationwide mobilisation against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Ali Hassan Bello, commander of the Blue Nile Air Defence Sector, congratulated the armed forces, allied groups, and the public “on the major victories achieved in the Kordofan axis against the rebel militia.”

“Victory is inevitable in the remaining cities still under siege,” he said in comments carried by the state news agency SUNA.

He urged the Sudanese youth to answer the army chief’s call to join the mobilisation against the paramilitary group.

Nationwide mobilisation drive

On Saturday, Burhan, who is the chairperson of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, announced a nationwide mobilisation against the RSF.

On Tuesday, the army said that it had made major gains in several areas in Kordofan after clashes with the RSF.

The military said several “vital sites” were secured, vowing to continue its military campaign against the RSF “until the country is cleansed of rebellion and foreign agendas.”

Meanwhile, the Sudanese army shot down a drone on Wednesday in Al Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, witnesses said.

Major victories for army

Sudanese activists shared on social media videos showing the moment that air defences intercepted the drone before it crashed.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the incident.

On Tuesday, the Joint Force of Armed Movements, a coalition of armed groups allied with the army, said that they had regained control of the Abu Sunun and Abu Qaoud areas in North Kordofan state.

A day earlier, the Sudanese army said it had retaken the Um Sayala area in North Kordofan from the RSF.

Tens of thousands killed in war

Following the RSF seizure of Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, last month, fighting between the paramilitary group and the Sudanese army spread to new fronts, particularly to the Kordofan region in central and southern Sudan.

The RSF controls all five Darfur states, out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including Khartoum.

Darfur makes up about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, but most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.

The conflict in Sudan between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.