The Collapse of the Militia

By: Al-Shazaly Hamed Al-Madeh

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rebel militia project is undergoing a decisive military and political turning point that transcends mere tactical retreat. It has entered a phase of total collapse and the organic disintegration of its core structure. A steady stream of documented field reports confirms that the coordinated strategic strikes and well-executed ambushes carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces and their supporting forces in recent days have succeeded in completely paralyzing the rebels’ offensive capabilities. This has forced them into a chaotic retreat and flight from the main axes of confrontation after their striking force was depleted and more than 186 combat vehicles were completely destroyed, in addition to air defense systems in various Kordofan axes. All of this has thwarted the plan to concentrate forces around El Obeid, Dilling, and Abu Zabad. Furthermore, the army succeeded in destroying the militia’s logistical depth, ammunition and fuel depots, and drones in Nyala, as well as liberating vital areas in the Blue Nile axes. This has stripped the militia of its command and initiative capabilities and caused its retreat from its positions. Its former stronghold… This rapid military collapse was accompanied by a deep and turbulent internal rift within the leadership structure, where circles close to the decision-making center witnessed mutual accusations of treason and purges among the axis commanders. This generated a wave of silent and public defections, prompting many field commanders to withdraw their forces or resort to surrender and individual negotiations to secure themselves and their families amidst a complete absence of central guidance and the annihilation of the first and second tiers of field commanders. This plunged the remaining groups into a state of operational disarray and haphazard confusion, lacking any combat coordination. The calamities did not stop at the paralysis that struck the leadership, but extended to strike a fatal blow to the social and tribal base following the outbreak of a violent armed tribal conflict between the Bani Halba and Salamat tribes deep in Darfur. This forced these groups to urgently withdraw their fighting sons from the main battlefronts and direct them to wage an internal (tribal survival war), creating a huge void and a severe shortage of manpower for the militia and hastening the collapse of its fronts in the Kordofan states. Darfur and the Blue Nile… Added to all this is the severing of logistical supply lines. All fronts witnessed mass withdrawals of foreign mercenaries from neighboring western countries, who fled on foot through valleys and rugged secondary roads to avoid checkpoints. The militia’s final days became tragic scenes of hiding and discarding military equipment in a desperate attempt to survive. In some areas of Kordofan and Darfur, a phenomenon emerged in local markets: the exchange of firearms and four-wheel-drive vehicles for simple civilian clothing, such as jalabiyas, for camouflage and to blend in with the population, or for selling them cheaply to obtain hard currency to facilitate escape across borders. The pinnacle of this despair and military collapse is embodied in a documented incident in a Kordofan village, where three fleeing militia members removed their military uniforms and all their equipment, handing over their personal weapons to a local boy in exchange for just two donkeys to help them cross the rugged terrain and escape beyond the militia’s control, fearing military pursuit. These final scenes mark the end of the rebellion project. Which collapsed completely under the weight of the army’s blows and the explosion of its escalating internal conflicts.