“O Militia, Drones Won’t Save You”

Mahjoub Fadil Badri
When Mr Samuel Colt invented the multi-shot revolving pistol, he famously promoted it with the phrase:
“God created men, but Samuel Colt made them equal.”
It was also said at the time: “The age of courage is over,” for even the most cowardly and trembling man could now bring down a brave warrior without facing him in open combat—without the need for physical strength, composure on the battlefield, or skill in fighting. One wonders what Colt would have said had he lived to see the age of drones.
The militia of the Dagalo clan has, in practice, proven the notion that “the age of courage is over.” Yet drones are not like pistols; they require knowledge, training, and technical understanding—things far removed from the capabilities of these forces. Their leader, who taught them looting and plunder, can barely master the alphabet. We have seen video clips from their incursion into villages in Al Jazira, where they struggled to operate a grounded crop-spraying aircraft—one of them encouraging another by saying, “This machine just needs a bit of fiddling.”
Thus, drones are not something the militia can operate itself. They are launched from distant locations outside Sudan, operated by foreign mercenaries—some not even from Africa. Numerous reports by international organisations, supported by satellite imagery, have identified locations such as Bosaso and Umm Jaras as operational bases.
The drones acquired with funds taken from the Sudanese people, used to target civilians in places like Al Butana and other villages, will not achieve the militia’s aims. They will not fulfil any illusions of reshaping the country or imposing their vision, nor will they bring back those who have left their ranks and joined the national side.
Drones may cause material and human losses, but they do not win wars. If they did, their decisive impact would already have been evident in conflicts such as the war in Ukraine or other modern wars. Technology alone does not determine victory.
Our solace for the lives lost will not lie merely in mourning rituals, but in resolve. To the militia and those who support it: the armed forces and their allied units will continue to confront you until you understand the reality on the ground. Their driving force is the unity and cohesion of Sudan—an indivisible strength under the banner of “one people, one army.”
Between us lies the battlefield—not a remote-controlled aircraft. Come forward, if you are able.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=13478