Sudanese military retakes Sirkum and Mugaja in Blue Nile

“The army has retaken Sirkum and Mugaja and is currently securing the areas,” one security source in Blue Nile told on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

A second source said military operations were continuing along the Sali-Dindiro axis and that government forces were attempting to consolidate their positions after the recapture.

“The operation is not over. The army is reinforcing its positions and pursuing the remaining hostile elements in the area,” the source said.

The development comes just over a week after the RSF seized the Sirkum military garrison, a strategic defensive position located about 12 kilometers southwest of Sali in Kurmuk locality.

The RSF at the time claimed to have seized prisoners of war, tanks, weapons, ammunition and other military equipment abandoned by fleeing government forces.

The fall of Sirkum marked another escalation in the joint RSF-SPLM-N offensive that has been underway in Blue Nile State since January. In March, the allied forces captured the border town of El Kurmuk near Ethiopia, triggering a series of government setbacks across parts of Kurmuk locality.

Sirkum and nearby Mugaja occupy strategic positions along the Sali-Dindiro road, one of the principal routes leading toward Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile State. Control over the area is therefore considered critical to both sides’ military operations in the state.

The fighting has also worsened an already severe humanitarian crisis. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 60,000 people had been displaced from locations across Blue Nile State by late May, with Kurmuk locality accounting for roughly half of the new displacements.

Neither the RSF nor the SPLM-N immediately commented on the reported loss of Sirkum and Mugaja on Monday.

sudanspost.com