RSF deputy calls on South Darfur capital residents to ‘return home’ following SAF base capture

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Deputy Commander Abdelrahim Dagalo, the brother of RSF commander ‘Hemedti’, called on residents of Nyala, capital of South Darfur, to return to their homes in a speech on Friday, after occupying the major base of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) 16th Infantry Division in the city on Thursday. Nyala Police Chief Maj Gen Bashir Eisa directed prosecutors to secure the people’s safety and provide basic services, including opening markets and hospitals.

In his speech, Dagalo declared: “We have taken over the city of Nyala, represented by the 16th Division. We declare our full support to secure the citizens, and call on them to return to their homes and shops. In the coming hours, we will open markets and public facilities.”

Dagalo continued, “We are working with everything we can to provide security for defenceless residents, who suffered from the brutality of the remnants of the former regime, to return to a decent life.”

The deputy commander called on the armed struggle forces to join and work with the RSF to secure the states. He said: “We have moved from the smaller enemy to the larger enemy, which is self-jihad and providing security for residents,” urging them to report any crimes that occur. Dagalo declared his refusal to put up any gates, saying, “We do not want any gates in the streets. Nyala’s people must move completely freely and open their shops.”

He called on the civil administrations and civil society to bear the historical responsibility for managing the city of Nyala and called on his soldiers not to carry weapons outside the division.

“Any man outside the division who carries a weapon must be dealt with as an enemy,” calling for the arrest of members of the former regime and bringing them to justice.

RSF take-over

Calls for the restoration of order and peace in Nyala follow the RSF’s ‘complete takeover’ of the crucial 16th Infantry Division base in Nyala earlier this week. The RSF also claims to have “inflicted heavy losses on the army, destroyed many military vehicles, and seized military equipment”.

An RSF field commander, who chose to remain anonymous, told Radio Dabanga that the RSF has “successfully secured control over the warehouse, the medical corps, and the fourth regiment in Nyala”.

The paramilitary forces reportedly control several neighbourhoods that were previously under SAF control.

Sudan War Monitor geolocated videos filmed by RSF fighters, “which show that they captured SAF positions outside the military hospital, and the hospital itself, which is less than one kilometre north of the 16th Infantry Division, as well as a military fuel depot.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, RSF control of Nyala potentially has deep implications for the balance of power in the ongoing conflict, as it is the largest city in the Darfur region, and the largest city and commercial centre in Sudan after Khartoum