“Sumood”… An Audit of a Shadowless Entity!

Muhannad Awad Mahmoud
One needn’t sift through stacks of classified documents to discern that so-called “Sumood” is little more than a fading political facade for a militia that has lost its most potent weapon: territorial control. Its spheres of influence have crumbled, tribal alliances unravelled, and propaganda illusions dissolved with every daily advance by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). All that remains for this entity is tattered spreadsheets and public relations tours yielding nothing but photo ops and handshakes.
A quick audit—requiring no team of accountants—reveals that “Sumood” has secured a handful of invitations: Paris, Berlin, London, and even Pretoria, alongside scattered overtures at the AU, IGAD, and select UN circles under the guise of “exploring solutions.” But the game is transparent—an initial meeting fuelled by curiosity, followed by dismissive assessments of their feeble propositions, culminating in diplomatic lip service without follow-up or actionable agendas. The result? No second meetings!
The irony? Capitals that initially granted them forums soon realised “Sumood” lacks real negotiating leverage. Their ceasefire slogans aren’t peace offerings but desperate attempts to freeze the SAF’s liberation campaign—a bid to salvage what their bullets failed to achieve.
The EU, for its part, now channels efforts exclusively toward urgent humanitarian crises (relief, aid, civilian protection) while pointedly avoiding any legitimacy for “Sumood” or its military wing, drowning as it is in atrocity reports. Even the AU and IGAD—repeatedly dragged into minor dialogues with them—now grasp the truth: an entity with no land, no grassroots support, and no capacity to shape realities carries zero weight.
Every new “Sumood” statement or tour inversely correlates with SAF gains: each liberated zone, each tribal defection, triggers another flurry of press releases—as if words could reverse losses or resurrect negotiations about nothing. Their bargaining chips—once brandished—are nearly exhausted. Why pause a war when the SAF is reclaiming strategic territories daily? Absurd dialogues with no mandate or agenda shrink by the hour.
More tellingly, observers note a peculiar trend: no serious communication channels ever follow these meetings. Like a lukewarm appetiser at a state banquet, they’re served once, then forgotten. No pressure points to move the international community, no popular backing, no ground presence to negotiate from.
A simple calculus now governs: solutions exist solely through Sudan’s legitimate institutions. Those wishing to engage Sudan know the address; “Sumood” is neither a credible alternative nor a pressure tool—just the codename for a delusion even its architects no longer believe.
In short, the battlefield speaks daily. The SAF and allied forces—with purely Sudanese tenacity—are settling scores kilometre by kilometre, stripping away victimhood narratives. As for them? They’re likely drafting another one-time-read statement… fitting for what they’ve become: An amateur opposition group—awaiting their final press release!

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