Wad Madani: Who Seizes it Rules Sudan

File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 
File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 
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Wad Madani: Who Seizes it Rules Sudan

File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 
File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 

Whoever controls the city of Wad Madani consequently rules the whole of Sudan.
The Rapid Support Forces’ targeting of the city is a qualitative development in the fighting with the Sudanese army given the city’s significance and its strategic location.
Wad Madani is Sudan’s second city in terms of social, political, and economic weight. It is the capital of the El Gezira state.

The Gezira state is located in southern Khartoum and is bordered to the north and west by the White Nile State, to the south by Sennar, and the east by Al Qadarif. It is considered the geographical center of Sudan.
Gezira is the first economic state in the country given its abundance of human, agricultural, animal, and natural resources. It is also home to the Gezira Scheme which is one of the largest irrigation projects in the world and was established in 1925 during British colonialism.
The cotton grown in Gezira used to be the most important export of Sudan and the main supplier of hard currency to the country, but the project was severely shocked upon the coup of 1989 due to the failed policies adopted by the coup regime. Things got worse when the government started depending on oil supplies after the nineties of the past century.
In addition to its economic significance, Wad Madani hosted following the war between the army and the RSF hundreds of thousands of refugees and received the greatest number of people fleeing from the fighting in Khartoum.
This has made it a vital city in the Sudanese developments during the war, and maybe after it.
In the case of the RSF seizure of the city, they would have seized the center of Sudan. The Hantoub Bridge is the only bridge that connects the country’s center, south, and west to the east.
Wad Madani is considered a cultural and artistic center and it has the University of Gezira, the third university in the country in terms of academic and historical rating. It also has Gezira Literature and Arts Association which is one of the most important cultural associations in the history of the country.

Wad Madani has also presented a huge number of politicians, artists, and writers.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."