Displaced Sudanese return to Al Gezira state as army consolidates gains

Twenty buses a week are to take civilians from Port Sudan to Al Gezira, south of Khartoum

People displaced by the war in Sudan prepare to travel back to their homes in Al Gezira. AFP

Buses carrying displaced Sudanese civilians left the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on Monday for Al Gezira state, about 700km south-west, as the country’s army consolidates recent territorial gains in the agriculture-rich region, sources in Port Sudan told The National.

Al Gezira, south of Khartoum, was the scene of heavy fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after the paramilitary group seized its capital, Wad Medani, more than a year ago.

In recent weeks, the army and allied militias have pushed the RSF out of important cities in Al Gezira, including Wad Medani and Hasaheisa. The recapture of large areas of the state has threatened critical RSF supply lines and placed the army and allied militias on the road heading north to the southern reaches of the capital.

Sudan's acting minister in Red Sea state announced that 20 buses a week would carry displaced civilians to Al Gezira after the army regained control of large areas, with a total of 100 buses to be used in the operation. The first batch of displaced civilians included those from shelters in Port Sudan.

The sources confirmed the buses had left Port Sudan for Al Gezira. It is not known how many residents have been displaced from the state, but is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese are thought to have been displaced from Al Gezira. AFP

The RSF controls large parts of the capital, Khartoum, which it seized in the early days of the conflict, including the airport and the presidential palace. The army-backed government and senior military commanders withdrew to Port Sudan, which became the army's main base of operations as it marshalled troops and supplies for counter-offensives.

The operation in the capital appears to be taking shape, with signs the army is preparing for a major assault to retake the whole of the metropolis. In addition to its gains in Al Gezira, the army has also been advancing slowly into Khartoum from the north and east and pushing the RSF out of vital positions there.

Analysts say control of Al Gezira is critical for the army to position itself for an offensive on Khartoum. But a battle for the capital is likely to be bloody and destructive, with the RSF having had months to fortify its positions.

The army and allied militias have already pushed the RSF out of most of Bahri, which together with Khartoum and Omdurman make up the capital's greater region. The group has also regained some districts in Omdurman, including the city's historic area, and established a useful foothold in Khartoum when it reclaimed the armed forces headquarters last month.

The civil war, which grew out of a power struggle between army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo, has ravaged Sudan. Tens of thousands have been killed in the fighting. More than 11 million have been displaced. Efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire and negotiate an end to the conflict have so far proved fruitless.