Hemedti urges RSF troops to focus on future objectives despite recent army gains.

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has called on his troops to concentrate on their next objectives rather than on lost territory.

In a recorded video message, Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, urged his fighters to focus on future gains and not to dwell on the areas recently retaken by the army. Addressing his forces, he said, “To all forces on all fronts, do not dwell on what the army has taken from us—whether it is the General Command (in central Khartoum), the Signal Corps (in Bahri), Jili town (north of Khartoum), or Wad Madani (capital of Al-Jazira state).”

His statement came in response to recent advances by the Sudanese army, which has managed to break the RSF siege on its General Command headquarters and the Signal Corps, regain control of most of Bahri, and retake Umm Ruwaba in North Kordofan state.

Despite these setbacks, Hemedti claimed that his forces could drive the army out of Khartoum again, as they had done before.

The war between the army and the RSF, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and displaced approximately 14 million people, according to the UN and local authorities. However, research from US universities estimates the death toll to be as high as 130,000.

International and UN calls for an end to the war are intensifying, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to severe food shortages. The conflict has now spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.