RSF wins in Dinder, second capture in days

July 5, 2024 (AL-DINDER) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Friday that they have regained control of Dinder in Sennar State for the second time in less than a week after heavy clashes with the Sudanese army and allied armed movements.

On July 4, the Iranian army and its allied armed movements announced that they had taken control of the town of Dinde, west of the Sennar state capital of Singa, days after the Rapid Support Forces had seized control of the town on Tuesday, July 2.

According to the RSF statement, the paramilitary forces “won a decisive victory over Burhan militias, terrorist Islamic Movement battalions and joint forces on Friday and took full control of the strategic Dinder district.”

The statement said they inflicted heavy losses of equipment and personnel on the so-called “enemy”.

The Rapid Support Forces claimed that they had captured nine heavily armed vehicles and destroyed seven others in Dinder. They also seized various weapons and ammunition and killed more than 170 enemy troops, according to their statement.

The RSF statement reported that the commander of the army’s mobile unit and the commander of a joint force of armed groups fighting the army were arrested.

Forces Without Borders broadcast video footage showing its forces stationed at the Dinder Bridge leading to the dirt road linking Sennar and Gedaref states, where there is a large presence of the army and armed struggle movement forces.

The joint force is composed of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Alko Minawi, the Justice and Equality Movement led by Jibril Ibrahim, and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, and is mainly concentrated in the city of Fao in Gedaref state.

During the brief first phase, from 2 to 4 July, Rapid Support Forces fighters committed widespread human rights violations, looting money, crops, gold jewellery, mobile phones and cars, including in some villages outside the city.

Dinder is located on the border of Sennar State and Gedaref State in eastern Sudan, about 25 kilometers east of Singa, the capital of Sennar State. It is a strategic location connecting the Sennar region and the Blue Nile with eastern Sudan.