AFRICA/SUDAN – The fall of El-Fasher marks a turning point: Egypt and Turkey strengthen their commitment to stop the RSF

Khartoum – The fall of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, in the hands of the Rapid Support Forces militias marks a turning point for the powers supporting the Sudanese government of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Egypt, in particular, has reinforced its military presence in the south along the border with Sudan and increased logistical support for the Sudan Armed Forces, which are now working to counter the RSF offensive in Kordofan .
A joint Sudanese-Egyptian command center has been established in this state, strategically important for the defense of the federal capital Khartoum, to direct the army’s military operations.
For Egypt, the capture of El-Fasher is a warning sign, as its fall separates Darfur, the vast western region of Sudan now under the control of the RSF, from the rest of the country, raising the risk of Sudan’s partition. Another possibility is that the RSF could once again threaten Khartoum, which was evacuated by militias in March , and the bordering city of Omdurman via Kordofan.
In this case as well, the government in Cairo wants to prevent the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, from posing a threat to Egypt’s southern border.
This is all the more important given that, with the capture of El-Fasher, the RSF now controls the smuggling routes to Libya and Chad, thereby increasing the risks to Egyptian security.
Turkey stands alongside Egypt, using armed drones to strike supply convoys traveling from the Libyan region of Cyrenaica and Chad toward the RSF strongholds in Darfur. The supplies are provided by the United Arab Emirates via a logistics chain that runs through Bosaso in Somalia’s Puntland , before landing in southern Libya or eastern Chad and finally reaching western Sudan by land.
The proxy war being waged by the various powers in the region in Sudan has paradoxical consequences. Egypt and the UAE are allies in the fight against political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood, which are protected by Turkey. However, in the case of Sudan, the UAE and Egypt are on opposing sides, while Cairo and Ankara cooperate in supporting General al-Burhan, whose government includes representatives of political Islam.
The conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan will also be a central topic of discussion at the Plenary Assembly of the Sudan’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference , which will be attended by the bishops of Sudan and South Sudan and will be officially opened on November 10 in Malakal, South Sudan. The theme is “Peace, healing wounds and promoting unity.”

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