A series of regional spats, attributed to thSudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and to armed opposition groups in Darfur, most notable the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) are blamed by Khartoum for fomenting trouble. The Sudanese opposition forces, however, counter that overconfidence and miscalculations on key policy issues are the cause of the uprisings in Sudan's far-flung and outlying provinces, and especially Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile. Sudan's ruling National Congress Party leaders can be excused for feeling a little embattled at the moment. The city of Om Rawaba, north Kordofan, was stormed this week by an alliance of armed opposition groups spearheaded by JEM. This week's militaristic inroads by JEM marks the biggest push by a rebel alliance that is seeking to overthrow the reputedly ailing Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir. Fighting had hitherto been limited mainly to remote regions of Darfur and South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which border South Sudan. JEM set sights on the Kordofan battleground amid Sudanese armed opposition expectations the key Sudanese Western province bordering Darfur might be up for grabs. Now, it appears that the armed opposition groups in Sudan are coordinating their strategies and inching closer to Khartoum. JEM, the most powerful and politically influential of Darfur's armed opposition groups, and which launched an unprecedented assault on Khartoum in 2008, said the rebel alliance stormed Om Rawaba in north Kordofan state, around 500km south of the Sudanese capital. Yet, the Sudanese authorities insist that the proliferation of armed attacks in the country is unlikely to lead to a breakdown of law and order in the country, at least not in Khartoum. The Sudanese army issued a statement late last Saturday evening that it had restored security in Om Rawaba and that north Kordofan's second largest city is under government control. The common denominator in all these Sudanese spats is that the ruling NCP of Sudanese President Al-Bashir is losing its grip on the country, even in its previous strongholds such as north Kordofan. Indeed, the state's security has been a cornerstone of Sudanese policy. It was traditionally south Kordofan that was subjected to a civil war and incessant conflict, as it is a stronghold of the SPLM-N. Khartoum, meanwhile, accused insurgents of destroying a power plant, petrol stations and a telecommunications tower in Om Rawaba. “The defeated rebels have withdrawn, and the army is continuing to expel elements of the rebels who have run away in different directions,” Sudanese army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khaled told the Sudanese state news agency SUNA. To the Sudanese leadership, the tensions in the country's backwaters appear to stem from the discomfort caused by the international sanctions imposed on Khartoum by Western powers. The Sudanese armed opposition groups dismiss the claim as gobbledygook. JEM spokesman Gibril Adam disclosed that forces from his armed militias had only withdrawn from the centre of Om Rawaba to the outskirts of the city after Sudanese warplanes had launched devastating air strikes that led to civilian casualties. The rebels arrived at dawn with 20 trucks in Om Rawaba, an important market for a major Sudanese agricultural export product, gum Arabic, residents said. People in Om Rawaba are in a state of panic as they do not know who is in charge — JEM or the Sudanese government forces, local and international humanitarian aid agencies reported. The Sudanese armed forces have superior air power but JEM fighters opened fire into the air and the Sudanese government claims that trigger-happy JEM fighters looted the local markets and a number of commercial banks. JEM's spokesman denied any pillaging retorting that it was the Sudanese government forces that have embarked on a spree of looting and vindictive retaliations to avenge the assassination of its key supporters in the city. To add insult to injury, JEM threatened to step up military pressure on Khartoum. Curbs on freedom of expression are unacceptable, leading Sudanese opposition figures note. “The goal of this attack on Om Rawaba is to weaken the government to realise our strategic plan to topple the regime,” JEM spokesman Adam declared. Radical measures are required to placate the Sudanese opposition forces, but Khartoum is reluctant to make concessions. A dented determination to divide the ruling NCP is underway. It is no secret that Sudanese President Al-Bashir is stepping down in the next year or so because of ill health. One fact imposes itself throughout the prolonged power struggle over who will replace Al-Bashir, both as Sudanese leader and as the head of the ruling NCP in Khartoum. It will take an unlikely set of circumstances for the NPC to cling on to power. Yet, the political power vacuum gives the Sudanese armed opposition forces the opportunity to encroach on the capital as this week's events in Kordofan have demonstrated. The Sudanese opposition not only want more power, but they also want more accountability. “Transparency and good governance are crucial,” the leader of the opposition Popular Congress Party Sheikh Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudan's leading Islamist ideologue told Al-Ahram Weekly. “This is something of an answer to widespread resentment among the Sudanese people,” Al-Turabi extrapolated.
