How strategic is Wad Madani city, retaken by Sudanese army?

PeoplSudan’s army has recaptured Wad Madani, a strategically important city some 200km (124 miles) southeast of the capital Khartoum, in a major blow to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The Armed Forces’ leadership congratulates our countrymen on this morning’s invasion of Wad Madani. According to an army statement, “they are now working to clean up the remaining rebel pockets inside the city.”

After consistently increasing in recent months, the army moved into Omdurman, the second-largest city, last week. Had Madani, the hub of important supply routes connecting several states, been under RSF’s control since December 2023.

RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, however, insisted that the battle was not over. “Today we lost a round, we did not lose the battle”, said Dagalo, who is also known as Hemedti.

One of the largest humanitarian crises ever to occur between the army and the RSF over this North African nation has resulted in more than 12 million people being forced out of their homes since fighting broke out in April 2023.

How significant is the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF)’s) recapture of Wad Madani, then? Can the army retake control of areas that are already under RSF control with another recent success?

Wad Madani’s position is strategically important. Where is it located?

The city, which is in the country’s center and south of Khartoum, serves as the state’s capital.

Who has control over the agricultural and trading hub, according to Hiba Morgan of Al Jazeera has easier access to other regions of the nation.

According to Morgan, who spoke from the Sudanese capital, “Wad Madani gained the ability to move to other parts of the country like Sennar in the southeast, Blue Nile in the east, and the White Nile in the south as well,” when the RSF acquired it in December 2023.

The city is also at “a very important point” through which supplies and other “logistical arrangements” can be made into the capital, according to Hamid Khalafallah, a Sudan policy analyst and PhD candidate at the University of Manchester.

“Whoever controls Madani]has] a lot more flexibility in terms of different stuff into Khartoum and out of Khartoum”, Khalafallah told Al Jazeera.

In the early days of the conflict, before the RSF took over, the city was a safe haven for displaced families.

Since the RSF’s takeover, it has been one of the sites of the paramilitary force’s bloodiest attacks on civilians, as well as the burning of fields, looting of hospitals and markets, and flooding of irrigation ditches.

Has Gezira state entirely been taken over by the Sudanese army?

No, the RSF still retains control of most of the state, as well as nearly all of Sudan’s western Darfur region and large parts of the country’s south.

Following Sennar state’s retake of Gezira in the south in recent months, the army has taken control of the strategically important city.

The turn of events in October, when RSF’s top state commander made a state defect to the SAF, helped the army. The commander’s troops took part in Saturday’s operations.

Last week, the army advanced in the second-largest city Omdurman, capturing several areas from the RSF.

How significant is Wad Madani city’s recapture?

This is a significant turning point for the war and a further blow to the RSF, which has prevailed over the military during the nearly two-year conflict.

The army’s capture will allow it to access other parts of the country that the RSF will now be cut off from, such as the Sennar, Blue Nile, and White Nile states.

“Now that]the RSF] lost that territory, that progress that it was able to make will not be possible, and its forces in those areas will be trapped between forces of the Sudanese army”, said Morgan.

“Wad Madani is also where the army’s first infantry division is located, so that is going to give the army a morale boost”, she added.

Officers and soldiers reacted strongly to the RSF’s invasion of the city, saying that the leadership’s standards were insufficient and that a replacement leadership should be built in place.

The army is likely to gain more support now that Wad Madani is back under the control of the Sudanese army, she said, especially its leadership, not just from the soldiers and officers but also from the Sudanese citizens as well.

Additionally, the city’s recapture could aid in Sudan’s hunger crisis, as the state is home to Sudan’s most fertile lands and agriculture schemes – with most farming prohibited under the RSF, said Khalafallah, the researcher.

“Now there will be room for people to grow, and to farm, and for food to be produced, and so on, to address Sudan’s unfolding famine and food security crisis”, he said.

The turn of events may also offer long-awaited respite to the city’s residents, who “have been experiencing the most horrific human rights violations and atrocities committed by the]Rapid] Support Forces”, Khalafallah said.

Khalafallah warned that a pattern of the army attacking pro-democracy activists in the cities they have already recaptured could result in worrying developments in Wad Madani.

What portion of the army currently has control?

Beyond Wad Madani, the Sudanese army also controls the north and east of the country, as well as parts of the capital. As of October 2024, the SAF and RSF had control of the areas shown on the map below.

How did the capture affect Sudanese citizens?

According to social media footage uncovered by Al Jazeera, Sudanese troops stationed in camo-print uniforms waved their rifles in the air as they passed through town on the back of their trucks while carrying their slogans to “liberate” the city.

The local resistance committee, one of hundreds of pro-democracy volunteer groups across the country coordinating front-line aid, hailed the advance as an end to “the tyranny” of the RSF.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses in army-controlled cities across Sudan reported dozens jubilantly celebrating in the streets.

In the Red Sea-flanked city of Port Sudan, boisterous crowds waved the Sudanese flag in celebration, verified videos also showed, following the news that the strategic city had been taken from the RSF’s control.

Source: Aljazeera