Sudan: the country at a Civil war’s gate
Sudan is renewing with violent clashes. since April 15th, these troubles have resulted in nearly 100 civilian deaths in three days. The country has been going through a difficult transition since the ousting of its dictator Omar el-Béchir in 2019.
The clashes are taking place in the capital city of Khartoum and involve two powerful generals vying for control of the country. What is really happening?
Actually, there has been a conflict brewing in Sudan between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane – the de facto leader of the country – and the powerful paramilitary force of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, also known as « Hemedti. »
Both men served under former dictator Omar el-Béchir and together ousted civilians from power during the October 2021 coup before turning their weapons against each other.
Since Saturday, heavy fighting has continued, mainly in the capital city of Khartoum and in Darfur in the west of the country. The air force regularly targets Hemedti’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headquarters, even in the middle of Khartoum.
Let’s notice that that these former militiamen from the Janjaweed, violent militias active in the deadly Darfur war, became the official auxiliaries of the army and are at the heart of the conflict between the two generals.
Their delicate integration within the regular armed forces has been blocking any crisis resolution process for weeks. General Daglo, on the other hand, is demanding broad inclusion and, above all, his place within the military high command.
The paramilitaries are thus uncompromising. «We will not stop until we have taken control of all military bases», threatened Commander Hemedti on Al Jazeera on Sunday.
General Burhane, for his part, assured in a statement that he was «surprised at nine in the morning» by an attack on his headquarters by the RSF, which the army now refers to as a « foreign-backed militia. »
Let’s recall that in that context, the USA and UK foreign ministers meeting in Japan for a G7 Summit have called for an immediate cessation of violence in Soudan.
