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Sudan
Army
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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