What does breaking the siege of al-Fasher mean for the Sudanese army by air?

Khartoum- About six months after cutting off supplies from El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, the Sudanese army managed to break the air siege imposed on the city by the Rapid Support Forces and drop food and military equipment, in what military experts considered an intelligence achievement and a moral victory that will strengthen the steadfastness of their armed forces and the facts.

Yesterday, Monday, the Sudanese army conducted a successful air operation for humanitarian and military aid in the town of El-Fasher, where, according to eyewitnesses, an Antonov military cargo plane flew over the town for about half an hour before landing several boxes in the town, which is supported by the Sixth Infantry Division and the Darfur Army Joint Forces.

The videos showed fighters from the army and joint forces gloating over the success of the airstrike and vowing to destroy the Rapid Support Forces after the arrival of military supplies and food supplies.

Platforms close to Rapid Support, on the other hand, released videos of members of his forces carrying ammunition boxes they said they were controlling, downplaying the army’s airstrike operation and threatening to intensify attacks to control al-Fasher.

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The army’s 6th Infantry Division in El-Fasher said the division’s successful firing represents an additional victory for rapid support in its battles, which totaled 247 military engagements since the siege of the city in May 2024.

The division said on its official Facebook page that the success of the aerial firing also confirmed the degree of cohesion and unity of the armed forces and boosted the morale of the fighters.

The citizens of El-Fasher welcomed the flight of the army plane with joy, which was expressed by the illusions of women and shouts of praise and “Allah Akbar” quarters. Rapid support responded with random artillery shelling of residential areas, but citizens continued to celebrate and roam the streets of the stricken city.

For its part, the El Fasher Coordination of Resistance Committees saw the return of army warplanes after a long absence as the first sign of an end to the siege, hoping to continue air support for the besieged city, which is suffering severe shortages of food and medical supplies.

The airstrikes followed intense activity by army drones, which have been intensively bombing rapid support deployments near El-Fasher for the past four days.

Since last April, the army has stopped supplying forces to al-Fasher, which is under a crushing siege after rapid support forces shot down its fighter jet in the city’s airspace.

Rapid Support claimed – previously – that it had installed modern air defense systems in El-Fasher capable of shooting down any aircraft flying over North Darfur, while the Sudanese army accused Colombian mercenaries of operating them.

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A security and military specialist, retired Brigadier General Amer Hassan Abbas, told Al Jazeera Net that the army’s success in airlift operations in El Fasher town has several implications, the most notable of which are:

• The government’s insistence supported the strength of the Sixth Division, which played a major role in destroying the Rapid Support Force’s heavy forces in Darfur and neutralizing its leaders in the field, starting with their commander at the regional level, Ali Yaqoob, and through the bulk of their forces, to the injury of their deputy commander, Rahim Dalogalo.
• A moral boost for the citizens of El Fasher who fought to protect their city and improve their nutritional status.
• Expediting the army’s rapid support operations to disrupt the city and its environs, which will facilitate the organization of all administrative and operational “insurgency”.
• The air capability of the Sudanese Air Force has improved as it neutralizes the enemy’s air defenses ahead of air operations, and this is a blow to external qualitative support that has received rapid support.

In this regard, the former editor-in-chief of the Armed Forces newspaper, Colonel Ibrahim al-Huri, explains that the projection through the obstacle barrier means that the air force has successfully completed a specific mission, closed the “temporary operational technical gap and restored air control” and this will affect the balance of the battle.

According to al-Hour, the success of the shooting also had a morale effect: “When the besieged cities see that aviation has returned and air supplies have arrived after a long break, it boosts the morale of the defenders and civilians and reduces the feeling of isolation.”

He explains that breaching the jam means that the electronic warfare unit has managed to temporarily bypass the jamming technology, which represents a major success in electronic warfare and also sends a message that the military has the ability to reach all facilities and conduct supply operations, even if it is limited.

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For his part, Lieutenant General Muhammad Bashir Suleiman, a military expert and former deputy army chief of staff, told Al Jazeera Net that what happened in al-Fasher is a moral victory and an intelligence advantage that will strengthen the army and its allies’ ability to resist and defend the city from the combined forces, but the end of the siege will not be complete except on the ground. with forces.

He added that the airstrikes indicated that the army was able to neutralize the rapid support air defense systems around al-Fasher and it would take time for the “militia” to move from outside the country through eastern Libya or Chad to compensate them.

Suleimani expected swift support to launch retaliatory operations with aircraft targeting the town of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, civilian and military targets in Khartoum, and infrastructure and service facilities elsewhere to send messages to his forces and abroad.

In this context, the Yale University Humanitarian Affairs Laboratory said in a report that it was monitoring the readiness of rapid support to carry out an imminent large-scale drone attack and that as of yesterday, Monday, it had observed 43 aircraft and 36 checkpoints near Nyala Airport.

He said 23 of them resembled the “Shaheed” model, while another 20 had not been spotted before, warning of an imminent threat to civilians, infrastructure and humanitarian aid in Sudan.