weeks of friction sudan army and the most important paramilitary group in the country, Fast Action Forces (RSF) ended its corruption this Saturday. outbreak of large-scale clashes in the capital, Khartoum, the long and costly process that the country, among other parts of the country, started four years ago towards the constitution of a civilian government after decades of dictatorship could collapse in the next few hours; labors that are now about to die on the shore.
The conflict is ending, with still uncertain outcome, but for the time being. at least three dead and dozens injured in the capital, Destroyed by bloody bombardments and heavy artillery, both on the streets and at the airport, they represent the definitive rupture between the country’s two powerful men: Sudanese military leader Abdelfatá al Burhan and the hitherto ‘number two’ and paramilitary leader. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka ‘Hemedti’, finally channeled his inconsistencies in the functioning of the future Sudanese Army under civilian command into armed struggle.
The circuitous process that began in April 2019 following the popular revolution that ended Omar al-Bashir’s thirty-year dictatorship, distrust among civic groupsan army that was instrumental in the autocrat’s downfall, and which they never quite saw as the guarantor of the transition to democracy, as first demonstrated by the Al Burhan-led coup in 2021 – nor did the RSF first remove Prime Minister Abdalá Hamdok, on whom the civilians and the army had agreed, and then in 2022. It also used extremely violent military crackdown on protests against the coup, which resulted in hundreds of deaths.
The RSF is by no means exempt from guilt: Amnesty International blames the occurrence of carnage-like massacres, which led militias to slaughter a hundred participants in one session on 3 June 2019, shortly after the dictator was overthrown. in the capital, which demands a rapid stabilization of living conditions. More than 700 people were injured, and later dozens of men and women reported being raped by paramilitary elements, successors to the dreaded Yanyawid militia of the Darfur conflict.
That’s why humanitarian organizations like Human Rights Watch have pointed to the international community, starting with the mediation they blame. I play Sudan army and paramilitaryignoring its obvious inadequacy, they add it to guide the country on the path to peace.
“Since the coup,” HRW researcher Mohamed Osman complains on Twitter, “international actors have quietly followed ex-military actors who disregard people’s fundamental rights and are completely indifferent to credible reforms, citing both the United Nations and international organizations. ” The quartet of the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) did not support any parallel effort without a military presence. months ago in Egypt
war all over the country
According to the Sudanese leader himself, the conflict in the capital began around 9:00 am when the RSF launched a frustrated attack on Al Burhan’s residence. Attempt to seize Khartoum international airport and simultaneously, the Sudanese military base in the city of Meroe, 220 kilometers north of the capital, was besieged by paramilitaries since Thursday in the first indication that the situation is unlikely to reverse.
Moreover, the conflict erupted minutes after the senior leaders of the Sudanese armed groups who signed the Juba peace agreement and now the immediate mediators between the dispute between Al Burhan and ‘Hemedti’ assured that both leaders had agreed to open negotiations. . to resolve the situation urgently.
Not surprisingly, both blamed each other for the start of hostilities. Sudanese Army directly”betrayal of the paramilitaries”they too accused the Armed Forces of launching a surprise attack against their deployment in the capital.
Meanwhile, the international community called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, while embassies ordered their citizens in the country to stay at home, especially due to the bloody clashes in the capital, where military warplanes carried out low-altitude flights. The RSF bombed its positions, including their headquarters in the Stove camp, and artillery clashes were repeated throughout the morning.
In the midst of all this, the voices of civic organizations as prominent as the Forces for Freedom and Change (FCC) were virtually muffled earlier this week after warning of the presence of the elements that the process would derail. Of the “old regime” that obeyed al-Bashir, whom they accused of running current events from prison.