As the humanitarian situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate and the country fragments further, the Port Sudan ruling elite remain trapped in empty slogans devoid of substance. The latest of these is the repeated call to “defeat the rebellion”, a phrase now used to block any initiative aimed at stopping the war or even securing a temporary truce to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians.
The central question remains unanswered, how exactly do those governing from Port Sudan intend to “defeat the rebellion” while remaining far from the realities of the battlefield. This rigid narrative reflects a mindset disconnected from facts on the ground, incapable of producing coherent political awareness, and unwilling to read ongoing developments. Rapid Support Forces continue to take control of key cities and strategic locations across Darfur and Kordofan, making the Port Sudan leadership’s slogan little more than wishful thinking driven by what critics describe as a “perforated mind”.
This mindset absorbs information in abundance but fails to process it. Reports of RSF advances arrive daily, yet the Port Sudan elite remain arrogant towards reality and blind to consequences. Instead of engaging with context, they retreat into slogans and impossible demands, such as calling for RSF to withdraw from areas it controls, concentrate its forces in pre designated zones, and surrender its weapons. Such proposals are seen as emotional reactions rather than serious political thinking, designed to justify continued war and violence through narratives that place their authors above the suffering unfolding around them.
In contrast, despite clear shortcomings, limited experience, and serious violations against civilians in some areas under its control, RSF’s political messaging during the war has been comparatively more pragmatic. RSF has accepted ceasefire proposals and engaged with initiatives calling for a halt to the fighting with a degree of openness, particularly when humanitarian access is at stake.
Meanwhile, the Port Sudan leadership has abandoned rational thinking altogether, replacing it with distorted alignment politics, drawing positions from fanatical or directionless groups thriving on chaos and death. As ordinary Sudanese pay with their lives, those operating from Port Sudan continue to reap the political and material dividends of war, building their authority on the skulls of civilians.
Observers say this contrast exposes a deeper crisis within SAF’s leadership, one rooted in denial, ideological rigidity, and an entrenched war economy. Until this mindset is dismantled, slogans will continue to replace solutions, and the suffering of Sudanese civilians will remain a secondary concern.
