Why political and public attention homed in on the Umm Ruwaba attack
Public and political opinion was glued to last month’s attack on the city of Umm Ruwaba and other areas in North Kordofan State on April 27. The attack was carried out by forces affiliated with the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of armed groups and a number of politicians.
Public and political opinion was glued to last month’s attack on the city of Umm Ruwaba and other areas in North Kordofan State on April 27. The attack was carried out by forces affiliated with the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of armed groups and a number of politicians.
Two days later, a closed meeting was held and politicians severely criticised the performance of the Ministers of Defence and Interior. Some went as far as to demand their dismissal and pushed for President and Field Marshal Omar Hassan al-Bashir as a temporary head of the army.
Ahmad Taha Muhammad Hassan
Some ministers of parliament went even further: Ismael Hussein, leader of the parliamentary opposition and head of the parliamentary bloc of the opponent Popular Congress Party, led by Hassan al-Turabi, urged the dismissal of security and military leaders, according to comments published in Sudanese papers following the meeting.
In his opinion, the Umm Ruwaba attack was an example of irresponsibility stemming from the fact that some officials have languished in their posts for more than twenty years. He warned of further incidents, unless this issue was tackled. Adding to the torrent of criticism, member of parliament Abdullah Massar, a former Advisor to the President and a former Information Minister, demanded the dismissal of the Minister of Defence.
In a press conference held after the end of the closed door meeting, Parliamentary Speaker Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Taher did not rule out the possibility of holding any senior executive accountable and punishing him if proven negligent. “No senior executive is immune to the parliament power,” he said.
A large part of Sudan is in the throes of recurrent clashes between the army and the opposition factions in the states of Darfur and the two states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, raising the question: Why was the Umm Ruwaba attack so high profile, even though the forces withdrew a few hours later?
Military expert Ahmad Taha Muhammad Hassan, a retired staff brigadier and consultant of the editor in chief of ‘Al-Sudani’ daily, argues that Umm Ruwaba is strategically important due to its location on the western road linking central and western Sudan. He added that the region is strategically important as a source of mineral water, oil and crops.
He believes the attack aimed at shifting focus away from the real battlefield. “This operation is militarily called a ‘raid’ aimed at carrying out a blitz before withdrawal,” he added, noting that the attackers made use of the regions vegetation, helping them to control the city of Abu Karshoula, the place where they started their operations in the region.
Hassan says the SRF’s main aim was “humiliating the government through confirming their ability to carry out operations deep into the front.”
Journalist Muhammad Faki Suleiman, a citizen of Umm Ruwaba, pointed to the city’s increase in size, swelling to 150,000 in 2012. “Umm Ruwaba has become like the major cities of Darfur during the first years of war […], the citizens living in the outskirts have settled inside the city in search for security and stability,” he added, noting that both families and businesses had shifted within the city in a bid to gain distance from the conflict’s focal points.
Suleiman argues that attackers wanted to send a warning to locals: “Your assumption that you are away from crossfire is no longer correct since Umm Ruwaba has become a military target,” he said. He claims that some citizens have decided to move to Kosti or Khartoum because they feel they are in danger.
Muhammad Faki Suleiman
Suleiman believes that the SRF might not go beyond Umm Ruwaba. “Such an incursion would take them away from their logistics centres in their main stronghold in Kaouda and the border areas with South Sudan,” he said.
He says Kaouda is key for SRF and the SPLA-N in South Kordofan because they are stationed in mountainous regions where they hide in caves, meaning they are difficult to target with air strikes and require a ground operation. “Such an operation will be expensive because mountain wars are among the most difficult ground operations,” he added.
One major impact of the attack was the dent to the region’s business success, amid fears of repeated attacks. “Traders no longer supply large amounts of goods to the city or keep large amounts of cash there. They are very concerned,” he said, adding that they would close shop at the smallest rumour of SRF vehicles approaching.
“Practically, no commercial activities can be practiced without security and stability,” Suleiman said. He argued that the government should try and restore peace to conflictive areas like Darfur and the two states of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile. “I think that the government will eventually find itself, whether voluntarily or forced, whether in the short or long run, sitting on the negotiation table to end these wars which cannot persist forever,” he said.
