September 11, Darfur —The Sudanese army has recovered multiple foreign-made aircrafts after maintenance work, a senior military source told Darfur24. These included Russian-made Sukhoi, Ilyushin and Antonov aircrafts as well as Chinese K8 jets. Sources also told Darfur24 that there is a delay on the arrival of Turkish Bayraktar aircrafts.
Last month, Darfur24 revealed that the army obtained Iranian Mohajer drones, and seven new Russian fighters funded by a Gulf state. In addition to the Iranian and Azerbaijani drones, Chinese FC 2000 fighters are also active.
The Sudanese army has intensified air raids the last two weeks, allegedly seeking to seize the end of the rainy season which has taken place the past few months. This has hindered the movements of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from advancing south and east of Sennar, but they have continued artillery shelling in Sennar, Omdurman and El Fasher.
This has had dire consequences. Since August, about 80 civilians have been killed as a result of multiple airstrikes carried out by the Sudanese army on various areas of the Darfur region, including Mallit, Al-Da’ein, Al-Koma, Kabkabiya, Al-Tawisha, Zalingei, Al-Geneina, and El-Fasher, sources told Darfur24.
Army Leading Aircraft Wars
The RSF have also obtained new weapons capable of launching multiple missiles at distant targets which were used in Khartoum and El Fasher, sources told Darfur24. They have been used to target MiG aircrafts flying at a low level.
But they are unable to keep up with the impact of the air raids by the Sudanese army, who have been intensifying the air strikes in Khartoum, Darfur, Al-Jazeera and Sennar.
Experts told Darfur 24 hat the fighter jets recently acquired by the army have modern systems and are fast-moving in the air, making it difficult for the RSF to detect them. Major General Moatasem Abdel Qader, advisor at the Higher Academy for Strategic and Security Studies, said that the army has outperformed the RSF air force and has clear targets. This is only limited by the RSF’s presence among civilians, Moatasem said.
According to daily reports on the army’s drones and fighters, reviewed by Darfur24, the number of army attacks per day may reach ten, and the number of targets dealt with may reach 30, including bases, fuel and supply tankers, and gatherings of RSF fighters.
Rashid Moatasem, researcher at the Khartoum Center for Dialogue, said that the army’s knowledge on RSF positions and movements has recently expanded, and that they are no longer ahead as they were at the start of the war. He said the army’s offensive policy is the last step in their battle.
Other experts said these airstrikes only have limited effects. A retired officer told Darfur 24 that intensive airstrikes without the support of ground forces on the ground “become more like chases.” The officer, who requested anonymity, explained that the army has not yet had a major or central battle that would enable it to regain control of the battlefield.