The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of Sudan (RSF) is putting its enemy, the Sudanese Armed Forces, at the center of suffering of millions of Sudanese claiming they are not committed to meaningful dialogue that would put war to an end.
- •At a press briefing in Nairobi on Monday, the leadership of RSF accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of undermining mediation talks as a means of clinging to power against the will of civilians.
- •In late 2018, the RSF played a pivotal role in overthrowing the regime of Omar al-Bashir and the Muslim Brotherhood.
- •The RSF, a militia group that grew out of militias that served Khartoum’s wishes, has been engaged in a disastrous conflict with the Sudanese Army since mid-April 2023.
RSF says on March 15, 2023, it signed a framework agreement addressing principles of military and security reform and conveyed to international mediators that only one issue—related to command and control—remained unresolved, which was to be negotiated. A final agreement was expected in April 2023 to ensure the permanent removal of military influence from politics. “Unfortunately, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) leadership reneged on these commitments, culminating in the outbreak of war on April 15,” General Omer Hamdan, Head of RSF Delegation.
According to Hamdan, that between October and November alone airstrikes have claimed lives of over 2000 people destroying 400,000 houses.
“There is a huge gap in delivery of basic services that require restoration of governance as per the constitution, over 30 million have no food, lack water and access to legal documents like passport and national identity cards,” he said during the press conference at Sarova Panafric, Nairobi on Monday morning.
The general claimed the military is not professionally constituted lacking legitimacy to rule, with 90 per cent of its personnel coming from a specific area.
Why it Matters
The RSF, which grew out of the Janjaweed militia that was operated by Khartoum to fight a long-running anti-government insurgency in Darfur, and to control migration to Sudan’s neighbours, was a partner in the coup that led to the coup against Bashir.
In its current form, the RSF was formed in 2013 under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known by his nom de guerre Hemedti. At its start it had a force of about 6,000 soldiers, according to an estimate at the time by Human Rights Watch.
Within a decade, its numbers had grown to more than 100, 000 soldiers. Its influence also grew beyond its original purpose, and the current conflict has drawn in external actors driven by multiple interests. Among the biggest is the country’s oil, and gold. The conflict has become a global proxy war, primarily driven by geopolitics in the Gulf. The Sudanese army is primarily backed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, although for different reasons.
The RSF counts among its primary backers the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to whose commercial capital, Dubai, gold mined in Sudan flows. Both Hemedti and his former partner and now nemesis, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, have also been linked to Russia and Moscow’s paramilitary arm, the Wagner Group.
“As this war escalates, it threatens regional stability and international peace and security,” Mohamed Mukhtar, spokesperson of the delegation at the Nairobi press conference said.