Business Day

Sudan’s army says paramilita­ry force raises risk of war

- Khalid Abdelaziz Nafisa Eltahir

The Sudanese army said on Thursday that the mobilisati­on in the capital Khartoum and other cities of a paramilita­ry force headed by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo had raised the risk of confrontat­ion.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) moves represente­d a “clear violation of law,” the army said in a comment on a dispute that has hampered a planned transition to democracy.

“These movements and deployment­s happened without the agreement of the leadership of the armed forces or even co-ordination with it,” the army spokespers­on said. “Their continuati­on will lead to more tension and divisions that could lead to insecurity in the country.”

The RSF is a powerful paramilita­ry force which emerged from militias involved in the conflict in Darfur that broke out 20 years ago and has been accused of widespread human rights abuses.

It joined with the military to overthrow long-ruling strongman Omar Hassan al-Bashir in a coup in 2019. The two forces then carried out another coup in October 2021.

Dagalo is now deputy leader of Sudan’s ruling military council. But he has recently pulled away from the military and found common ground with a civilian political alliance.

DELAY

Relations between the military and the RSF have worsened, forcing a delay to the signing of an internatio­nally backed agreement with political parties for a two-year civilian-led transition to elections.

Central to Dagalo ’ s disagreeme­nt with the military is his reluctance to set a clear deadline to integrate the RSF into the army, two military sources said.

Dagalo has said repeatedly that he did not want a confrontat­ion with the army, a move that would spell prolonged insecurity across a country dealing with economic breakdown and

flare-ups of tribal violence.

The RSF, which operates under a special law and has its own chain of command, said in an earlier statement that it deploys across the country as part of its normal duties.

Concerned about Dagalo ’ s intentions, the army under ruling council leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has stationed more soldiers in Khartoum on a state of alert, the military sources said.

Dagalo commands tens of thousands of fighters in the RSF and has amassed considerab­le mineral wealth.

 ?? ?? Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo

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