International Media Sheds Tears for the RSF Militia

Sudanhorizon – Osman Siddiq

International media in general and the Western media in particular have closely monitored the major and successive victories scored by the Sudanese Armed Forces(RSF) and its allied military forces during the past few days.
A report published by the BBC website on Friday evening stated that the Sudanese army “is making huge gains in its quest to retake the war-torn capital, recording its biggest victory in a year.” The report referred to the statements of Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, President of the Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, “Very soon there will be no rebels in Khartoum.” The report also referred to “the joy of many residents of the areas recently retaken by the army, as the Rapid Support Forces were widely accused of killing and rape of civilians in Khartoum, in addition to looting the homes of many residents who fled the city.”
As for the position of the Al-Daglo militia, the report showed that the Rapid Support Forces denied reports of the army’s progress, describing them as “lies and rumours.” It denied this in the same way before each withdrawal in recent weeks. The report also referred to “the concerns of the collaborators with the Rapid Support Forces, some of whom led the militia armed men into people’s homes. Some of them joined the militia forces and stole property, terrorized people – even held women against their will [as sex slaves]. They did horrible things.”
Germany
Western media platforms began focusing on news of victories last Tuesday as the army tightened the noose on Khartoum. The title of a news item published by the German radio station Deutsche Welle was to ask the following question: Sudan: Is the bloody war heading towards its end? The news item reported that the latest achievements made by the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces militia in Khartoum and the city of Omdurman “indicate a change in the bitter and bloody stalemate that dominated the past months of the war. With the return of key strategic points to the Sudanese Armed Forces,” adding that observers believe that Darfur will become the last major battlefield. The news item referred to the ending of the siege of the General Command in Khartoum and Burhan’s return to the offices there for the first time in nearly two years.
“Voice of Germany” quoted a researcher at the German Institute for Global and Regional Studies as saying that the fall of Wad Madani into the hands of the Rapid Support Forces in December 2023 caused shock to the entire country, especially since this was followed by the Rapid Support Forces burning crops, setting fire on farms, and destroying agricultural equipment. They also used hunger as a weapon against the Sudanese people in order to impose control, adding that this was the moment when food insecurity worsened a hundredfold, as the strategic importance of Wad Madani as the scorched earth tactics of the rebel Rapid Support Forces destroyed Sudan’s breadbasket.
It quoted journalist Osman Mirghani as saying that the countdown to the end of the war had begun, and the battlefield had moved to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which had been under siege by the Al-Dagalo militia since May 2024.
United States
The Voice of America website addressed the militia’s attack last Tuesday on “Al-Naw” hospital in Omdurman under the title “Five killed in hospital bombing in Sudan,” quoting statements by a medical source speaking to Agence France-Presse. According to the source, the Rapid Support militia, which has been waging a war against the army since April 2023, fired shells that “fell in the garden next to the hospital building.” It also reported the attack by rebels belonging to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu and their shelling of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan State, which is controlled by Sudanese forces.
It indicated that the shelling resulted in the death of 40 people and the injury of 70 others. It quoted the governor of South Kordofan, Mohamed Ibrahim, as saying that Al-Hilu’s attack targeted a market in Kadugli to destabilize the region, adding that this rebel movement, based in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, has been fighting the national army and paramilitary forces of the Republic of Sudan since the beginning of the war.
For its part, an American agency indicated on Thursday that the Sudanese Armed Forces continue their advance to regain control of Khartoum and wonders whether this is a turning point in the Sudanese conflict. These recent victories in central Khartoum have brought the army very close to the stronghold and command centre of the militia of Mohamed Hamdan “Hemaidti” Dagalo.
Canada
As the Canadian newspaper “La Presse” reported (Thursday), quoting Doctors Without Borders in a statement that its teams are treating a massive influx of war wounded in Khartoum and the states of North Darfur and South Darfur, similar scenes occurred at the Al-Naw Hospital in Omdurman, which was bombed several times this week by the Rapid Support Militia, as well as at the field hospital in the Zamzam camp for displaced people in North Darfur.
The militia forces arrested the director of Al-Bashir Hospital – the last partially functioning hospital in the area – and the director of the community kitchen, and a local volunteer, according to the emergency room in the Hizam Jinoubi neighbourhood of Khartoum. The newspaper referred to a study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the results of which showed that 26,000 people were killed in the capital alone between April 2023 and June 2024.
France
For its part, the French newspaper “Le Figaro” reported (Friday) the United Nations’ concern about the rising death toll, noting that the Sudanese army launched an attack on several axes in recent weeks to regain full control of the capital, Khartoum. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it documented at least 275 civilian deaths between January 31 and February 5, following artillery shelling and drone attacks in Khartoum, as well as in North Darfur, South Darfur, North Kordofan and South Kordofan. It said the figures were more than three times higher than the “highest number reported by the UN Human Rights Council” About the 89 deaths recorded in the previous week. The organization stressed that the actual death toll may be much higher than the numbers it was able to verify.
The website of the fifth channel—the global “TV5/World” (Thursday)—quotes a military source as saying that the Sudanese army advanced towards the center of Khartoum on several axes and is near the presidential palace. It added that the army’s advance towards the capital represents its biggest victory in a year since it recaptured the city of Omdurman.
Africa
On the African side, the “All Africa” website published yesterday (Friday) what it considered “the stubbornness of the Rapid Support Forces leaders” and their denial of the army’s victories. The website quoted the leader Mak Abu Shotal, statement in social media denying the escape of a large number of Rapid Support Forces from Khartoum, and stating that the fighting continues.
The website reported that the Kalakla al-Qubba Resistance Committees accused the Rapid Support Forces of killing four men in the neighbourhood last Wednesday. They said in a statement on their Facebook page that when the army bombed the Jebel Awliya Bridge, a large number of angry militia members fled from Jebel Awliya to neighbouring Kalakla, where they attacked citizens, killed three brothers and their cousin, and looted homes. Despite all these developments on the ground, such as the decline and retreat of the militia, which is on the verge of extinction, and despite the many statements and confirmations from citizens and several UN and international organizations that the militia has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, these organizations and media institutions failed to have the courage of to describe the Rapid Support Forces as a terrorist group, while the term terrorism lambasted by the international community on groups that have committed crimes much less serious in terms of the extent of the damage and in terms of the number of times their recurrences.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=4112