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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
Sudanese army soldiers in T-54 tanks
Courtesy Thomas Ofcansky
The army was basically a light infantry force in 1991,
supported by specialized elements. Operational control extended
from the headquarters of the general staff in Khartoum to the six
regional commands (central, eastern, western, northern, southern,
and Khartoum). Each regional command was organized along
divisional lines. Thus, the Fifth Division was at Al Ubayyid in
Kurdufan (Central Command), the Second Division was at Khashm al
Qirbah (Eastern Command), the Sixth Division was assigned to Al
Fashir in Darfur (Western Command), the First Division was at
Juba (Southern Command), and the Seventh Armored Division was at
Ash Shajarah near Khartoum (Khartoum Command). The Airborne
Division was based at Khartoum International Airport. The Third
Division was located in the north, although no major troop units
were assigned to it. Each division had a liaison officer attached
to general headquarters in Khartoum to facilitate the division's
communication with various command elements.
This organizational structure did not provide an accurate
picture of actual troop deployments. All of the divisions were
understrength. The Sixth Division in Darfur was a reorganized
brigade with only 2,500 personnel. Unit strengths varied widely.
Most brigades were composed of 1,000 to 1,500 troops. Each
battalion varied in size from 500 to 900 men, and a company might
have as few as 150 and as many as 500. In the south, the First
Division was supplemented by a number of independent brigades
that could be shifted as the requirements of the conflict
dictated. According to The Military Balance, 1991-1992,
the main army units were two armored brigades, one mechanized
infantry brigade, seventeen infantry brigades, one paratroop
brigade, one air assault brigade, one reconnaissance brigade,
three artillery regiments, two antiaircraft artillery brigades,
one engineering regiment, and one special forces battalion.
The army did not have its own general headquarters but
functioned under the immediate control of the deputy chief of
staff for operations. Headquarters and training facilities were
maintained in or near the national capital area for most of its
specialized corps. These included the armored, artillery, signal,
and medical service administrations; the transportation and
supply corps; and the engineering branch. Among other support
elements were the military police and the border guards.
The Sudanese army's inventory of armaments and equipment was
extremely varied, reflecting its shifting military relations with
other nations in a position to supply arms. At different times,
Britain, the Soviet Union, China, the United States, Libya, and
Egypt have been important sources of weaponry
(see Foreign Military Assistance
, this ch.). Much of the equipment delivered
to Sudan, particularly from the Soviet Union, was obsolescent and
maintenance has been seriously deficient. Because Sudan had been
deprived of support from a number of countries and was unable to
afford foreign exchange to pay for needed spare parts, much of
the existing stock of arms was believed to be inoperable. The
army was virtually immobilized at times for lack of fuel and
ammunition.
During the 1970s, the bulk of the army's armored strength
consisted of T-54 and T-55 medium tanks delivered by the Soviet
Union early in the decade. About seventy Chinese Type 62 light
tanks were also delivered in 1972. During the early 1980s, this
equipment was supplemented by M-41, M-47, and M-60A3 tanks
produced in the United States. Most of the Soviet tanks were
believed to be unserviceable, and only the M-60A3 tanks were
considered to be up-to-date. The Sudanese army also had a mixed
collection of armored personnel carriers (APCs), armored
reconnaissance vehicles, and other wheeled fighting vehicles. The
most modern of these were 36 M-113 APCs and 100 Commando-type
armored cars from the United States, and 120 Walid APCs from
Egypt (see
table 12, Appendix).
Artillery pieces included a number of guns and howitzers
mostly of United States and Soviet origin. All of the artillery
was towed with the exception of 155mm self-propelled howitzers
acquired from France in 1981. The army's modest antitank
capability was based on the jeep-mounted Swingfire guided-wire
missile, manufactured in Egypt under British license.
Data as of June 1991
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