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Sudanese military encircles RSF in Radio TV building in Omdurman

Sudanese soldiers and enroled personnel drive a pick up truck mounted with a machine gun on a street in Gedaref city, Sudan, on January 14, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

By Foreign Reporter | Monday, February 26, 2024

Following the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, the RSF seized control of several strategic sites, including the official Radio TV buildings in Omdurman.

The Sudanese army declared on Sunday that it is intensifying its blockade on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) within the National Radio and Television Corporation headquarters in Omdurman, which is adjacent to Khartoum, according to a local news outlet Sudan Tribune.

Intense clashes have occurred between the two factions for the past 10 months over the control of key locations in the city.

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In recent weeks, the army has shifted its strategy, with its forces now actively engaging the RSF in an attempt to defeat them and reclaim their positions, particularly in Khartoum state.

RSF, a paramilitary force that was previously part of the army, has been stationed at the corporation's headquarters for security purposes.

Sudan Tribune reports that, following the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, the RSF seized control of several strategic sites, including the official Radio TV buildings in Omdurman.

In a brief statement issued on Sunday, the army under General Burhan claimed that Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces had engaged in a "mass escape" near the radio station, possibly indicating the imminent collapse of their defence.

The embattled Sudanese military also published drone footage showing its troops close to the corporation's headquarters.

On Sunday, Colonel Ibrahim Al-Houri, a military spokesperson, stated on Facebook that the army had encircled the RSF forces stationed within the site, offering them the option to surrender or face further confrontation.

The army's strategy prioritises besieging the RSF stationed at the radio and television headquarters.

This approach, according to Sudan Tribune aims to minimize casualties on both sides, as the headquarters house a significant number of regular army prisoners held by the RSF, and also contain irreplaceable historical archives of the national broadcasting stations.