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Sudan Armed Forces Mass Additional Troops, Tanks, Artillery Within Striking Range of Abyei
The Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) has identified Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) equipped with heavy armor and artillery at the El Obeid Barracks, approximately 270 miles from Abyei town, possibly preparing for deployment to southern areas. Based on analysis of available transportation logistics and the formation of the units, SSP has concluded that the forces there are capable of imminent forward movement.
The force includes troop units of at least company size, towable artillery pieces, main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and Heavy Equipment Transports capable of reaching Sudan’s North-South border or Abyei town in less than a day.
Satellite Images Document Destruction in Wake of Abyei Invasion
The Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) has documented evidence of attacks by armored vehicles and the destruction of villages in Sudan's disputed border region of Abyei following the reported bombardment and occupation of the area by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on May 20-21. The SSP report, “Abyei Invasion: Evidence of SAF Incursion into the Abyei Region” captures the razing of structures north of Abyei town, including the destruction of a southern-aligned base at Todach; the potential abandonment of a southern base at Tajalei; and fires burning in the town of Dungop and another point near Abyei town. SSP also documents the apparent absence of previously documented forces at a northern-aligned militia base at Goli. This imagery is consistent with reports that northern-aligned forces have razed buildings in Abyei.
"This latest attack by the Khartoum regime demonstrates that the lack of consequences for such offensive actions will ensure that they continue," said board member John Prendergast. "The escalation of aerial attacks in Darfur, the intensification of coordinated attacks by Khartoum-supported militias, and the military occupation of Abyei require a much stronger response from the international community."
While many Sudan observers are looking ahead to South Sudan’s first birthday in July, there is another, less auspicious, anniversary to commemorate. Today, June 5, marks one year since the beginning of hostilities in South Kordofan state. The Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, or SPLM-N, have been engaged in combat over the last year; however, a hallmark of the violence has been the SAF’s relentless targeting of civilians, use of indiscriminate bombing, and continued denial of humanitarian aid to devastated and food insecure communities.
The Sudanese government has banned at least four foreign humanitarian agencies from working in the eastern region of the country. The decision last week by the Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Commission, or HAC, to suspend projects in the deeply impoverished East is yet another example of Khartoum’s continued pattern of obstruction and neglect of peripheral areas. In addition to the recent developments in the East, humanitarian access remains severely hampered in Darfur and has been completed blocked in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
