Military Victory on the Battlefield… and the Burden of Daily Life

Dr Al-Haytham Al-Kindi Yousif
The failure of Sudan’s military victories to translate into tangible improvements in the daily lives of its citizens points to a deep and complex crisis in the way the state manages times of national emergency.
Today presents a painful paradox. While the Sudanese Armed Forces and the supporting forces continue to make sacrifices that have yielded significant battlefield successes and opened the way towards the remaining areas of Kordofan and Darfur, ordinary citizens continue to struggle with deteriorating public services, disease outbreaks, unemployment and soaring living costs.
The question therefore arises: why has the public not felt the benefits of these military advances in their everyday lives?
In my view, several interrelated factors have contributed to creating this gap, the most significant of which are the following:
The dominance of a “battlefield mentality” over state governance
The overwhelming focus on military operations has relegated the management of public services and citizens’ needs to a secondary concern, as though the country were being governed solely as a military operations room.
Weakness and paralysis within government administration
State institutions suffer from administrative fragility and a lack of strategic vision aimed at maintaining economic stability while the country remains at war.
Political dynamics
According to observers of the political scene, the continued presence of practices or officials associated with previous political administrations—including what some describe as the influence of elements linked to the former Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) or similar groups within the technocratic bureaucracy—has contributed to disrupting the delivery of public services or diverting the political will needed to achieve stability and public confidence.
Destruction of infrastructure
Military operations have inevitably damaged essential service networks. The rainy season has further exposed inadequate drainage systems and the absence of effective public health emergency plans, thereby worsening existing problems.
Neglecting the battle for public services and people’s livelihoods poses a direct threat to military success itself. Sustainable victory cannot be achieved merely by controlling territory; it also depends upon addressing the concerns of the society that supports the state and meeting its essential needs.
Public frustration, the continuing hardship of daily life, and the inability of many displaced citizens to return home because of the absence of water, electricity and adequate public health conditions all create a political environment capable of weakening the home front and fostering disillusionment, potentially stripping battlefield gains of much of their long-term significance.
A Roadmap Out of the Crisis
Breaking this cycle requires an immediate transition to a model of parallel crisis management based on the following measures:
1. Government responsibilities: Immediate priorities
Establish an Emergency and Reconstruction Government
The management of public services should be removed from routine bureaucracy and administered with the same decisiveness that characterises military operations.
Reform and revitalise the state administration
Areas of institutional weakness and political interference should be identified and addressed, while capable national professionals willing to work effectively on the ground should be appointed irrespective of political affiliations.
Prioritise essential survival needs
Immediate attention should focus on repairing damage caused by seasonal rains, combating disease outbreaks, and restoring basic services—particularly electricity and water—to facilitate the safe return of displaced citizens.
2. The role of citizens and civil society
Community solidarity and voluntary action
Supporting community initiatives to rehabilitate neighbourhoods, improve environmental conditions and assist in restoring public services will help preserve the spirit of solidarity that has sustained Sudanese society.
Constructive public oversight
Citizens should move beyond complaint towards responsible civic oversight, holding local authorities and state governments accountable while safeguarding the country’s fundamental national interests.
Military victory represents only half the journey. The other half—and the guarantee of its endurance—is the construction of a viable and functioning state.
Unless battlefield successes are translated into better public services, employment opportunities, economic security and improved living conditions in Sudan’s towns and cities, comprehensive victory will remain incomplete.
The effective integration of governmental action with community participation offers the best prospect of achieving that goal.

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