Editorial: Rapid Support Forces Lost its compass

In the recent days, the Rapid Support Forces militia lost their biggest gamble on drone warfare, a weapon they have long relied upon to mask their successive battlefield defeats. At dawn of Wednesday, they launched more than 20 suicide drones in a single attack, targeting Ed-Damar, Atbara, and Omdurman. However, the Air Force and Air Defense Forces successfully intercepted and shot them all down.

This resounding failure signifies that the militia has reached a point of desperation, with all options exhausted. Their only remaining escape route is surrender, or suicidal attempts, as they previously tried in Kurmuk, risking a ground offensive that ultimately results in the complete annihilation of their forces.

Concurrently with this aerial success, the Sudanese Army announced on Wednesday, the full reopening of the export route and the return of normal life between Omdurman and El Obeid. Meanwhile, the governor of Kordofan region, Hamad Mohamed Hamed Khalifa—appointed by the so-called “tasis government” dealt the militia a new political blow by officially announcing his defection and describing it as a “rebellious faction.”

The news of confronting this massive wave of demonstrations is no less significant than liberating new territories. It is a qualitative victory of paramount importance, signifying the stripping of the Dagalo forces of their last remaining tools for terrorizing civilians and destroying vital infrastructure. With this, they have exhausted all their terrorist tactics—from indiscriminate bombing and the recruitment of mercenaries to exploiting neighboring countries and external pressures, to abducting and detaining unarmed civilians in notorious prisons—ultimately reaching a dead end and their inevitable demise.