While tightening its grip on El Fasher, North Darfur, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) further expanded into areas of Sudan that were previously under control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in June 2024.
لقراءة المقال بالعربية
In the state of Sennar, the RSF took over Jebel Moya on 24 June, and captured the state capital, Sinja, on 29 June.
Civilians have been deeply impacted by the developments. Reports circulated of looted homes and shops, worsening civilians' access to basic goods. Thousands have already fled. According to the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA), about 26,000 have reportedly arrived in Gedaref as a result of the fighting, as of 4 July.
Through analysing user generated content online, Sudan Witness was able to trace the RSF’s expansion in Sennar. Verified videos, including clips posted from a pro-RSF Telegram channel and the RSF official X account, confirmed the presence of the RSF in several strategically important locations in the city. These locations included the 17th Infantry Division HQ, the 165th Artillery Brigade, Sinja Police Department HQ, Sennar state Radio & TV Corporation HQ, Sinja Prison, Sennar state Judiciary HQ, and Sennar General Secretariat of the Government (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Still images show RSF presence in several SAF bases and government facilities posted on 29 and 30
June 2024. Sources: Telegram, Telegram, X, Telegram, and Telegram
The takeover of Sinja occurred after the RSF successfully seized Jebel Moya, 75 km northwest of Sinja, on 24 June. At this point, the SAF’s defences had been weakened following persistent RSF activity since 29 May. Various pieces of footage posted on social media showed RSF presence on 24 June. For example, a pro-RSF Telegram channel showed the paramilitary on the northeastern side of the village. Another video posted on 25 June to a pro-RSF news outlet showed a large convoy of four jeeps and three motorbikes moving through a residential area at Jebel Moya northwest.
Jebel Moya is strategically located along the Kosti-Sennar road connecting Sennar State and the White Nile State to the west, and Gezira state to the north. Control over Jebel Moya provides the RSF with direct routes into Rabak, Kosti and Sennar, which remain under SAF control.
In order to reach Sinja, the RSF likely took off-road routes rather than the main route through Sennar city. Sudan War Monitor reported that the RSF travelled over “undefended agricultural plain”. Since the RSF’s capture of Sinja, roads into Sennar city from the west and the south have been cut off.
Both the RSF and the SAF posted graphic images and footage coinciding with the RSF's takeover. CIR verified footage shared on X by a pro-SAF account of three bodies being dumped in a major irrigation canal of the Gezira Agricultural Project. Another three videos show three RSF prisoners with the same uniforms of the dumped bodies. One video posted by pro-SAF account on X shows GIS special forces and Islamic Militia holding the prisoners on a back of a truck while they were alive. Another video posted by pro-SAF account on X shows their dead bodies laid on the ground, and the last video posted by pro-SAF account on X shows their dead bodies placed on the back of another truck, all bodies on the three videos confirmed with the three bodies dumped in the canal (figure 2).
In a statement posted to Facebook, Sudan Police announced the death of two high-ranking officers who served in the Police and Central Reserve Police in Sinja. They were named as Abdul Mahmoud Ahmed Ali Khalifa, and Abu Ubaida Al-Daw Muhammad Ali Ahmed.
Figure 2: Still images show the uniforms match of the RSF prisoners killed and dumped in the canal at the Sennar Dam, posted on 27 June 2024. Sources: X
The RSF fired MLRS rockets northeast of Kosti-Sennar road towards Sennar, as observed in a verified video posted by pro-RSF Telegram channel on 24 June (figure 3). Additionally, CIR observed the likely use of aerial assault vehicles in Jebel Moya, in line with the SAF’s common conduct in areas of RSF control or contested control. A video posted to X on 24 June by a pro-SAF account appears to show an SAF Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter flying southwest towards Jebel Moya on 24 June, the same day the RSF was in Jebel Moya.
Figure 3: Still images show RSF and SAF presence in several locations at Jebel Moya, Sennar and Banat Al Nafidia (where SAF defences west of Sennar), posted on 24, and 27 June 2024. Sources: Telegram and X
Furthermore, a verified video circulated on a pro-RSF Telegram channel shows the apparent release of prisoners in Sinja. In the background, men in RSF uniforms can be seen loading trucks with goods and supplies, which might have been looted.
The paramilitary group's rapid expansion has also restricted displaced citizens from reaching refuge in surrounding areas. Sudan Witness verified several pieces of footage showing civilians fleeing Sinja, including a video shared on the X account of a humanitarian activist, showing civilians crossing the Wad Al-Eis Bridge towards Gedaref and Kassala. According to the OCHA. As of July 4, people are fleeing towards Gedaref, Kassala, and Blue Nile State. Over 136,000 people have been displaced from across Sennar so far.
As the war in Sudan stretches on past the one year mark, CIR’s Sudan Witness team will continue to produce monthly updates on its work verifying content emerging from the conflict.
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