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Arab News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
13 killed including 3 children in Sudan paramilitary strikes in Darfur
KHARTOUM: Paramilitary shelling of the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher in western Sudan killed 13 people including 3 children on Friday, a medical source told AFP as the United Nations announced it was seeking to secure a humanitarian pause in the city.'Another 21 people were injured due to the artillery shelling from the Rapid Support militia,' the source said, referring to the Rapid Support Forces, at war with the regular army since April RSF has besieged the North Darfur state capital since May of last year and has launched repeated attacks in an attempt to seize the city of an estimated million strike came hours after Sudan's ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council said army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan's office had agreed in a phone call with UN chief Antonio Guterres to a 'week-long humanitarian truce in El-Fasher to support UN efforts and facilitate aid access to thousands of besieged civilians.'Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday said 'we are making contacts with both sides with that objective.'The UN has repeatedly warned of the plight of trapped civilians in the city, where hunger has pushed families to survive on eating leaves and peanut shells as nearly no aid is allowed report soaring prices and a near-total absence of health facilities, nearly all of which have been forced shut by the fighting.A World Food Programme facility inside El-Fasher was damaged from repeated RSF shelling last month, and in early June five aid workers were killed in an attack on a UN convoy seeking to supply the paramilitary has repeatedly attacked the city and its surrounding famine-hit displacement camps, killing hundreds of civilians and pushing hundreds of thousands of already displaced people to has described the situation as 'hell on earth' for at least 825,000 children trapped in and around RSF conquered nearly all of the vast western region of Darfur in the early months of the war, but has been unable to seize North Darfur state capital El-Fasher despite besieging the city for over a RSF source told AFP Friday the paramilitary had not received a ceasefire sources say an official famine declaration is impossible given the lack of access to data, but mass starvation has already taken hold of the a million people are on the brink of famine in North Darfur, according to the latest available UN the 10 million people currently internally displaced in Sudan — the world's largest displacement crisis — nearly 20 percent are in North Darfur.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
RSF leader and army-backed PM offer conflicting narratives for war-torn Sudan
Addressing the nation, the commander of Sudan 's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the new army-backed Prime Minister painted a contrasting picture of a country that has effectively been partitioned. The RSF and the army have been at war since April 2023. The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 13 million while leaving millions facing acute hunger or, in growing numbers, famine. RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo and Prime Minister Kamil Idris spoke at about the same time one evening last week. Their styles and the content of their speeches highlighted a divided nation. The army, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, controls the capital Khartoum, as well as the northern, eastern and central regions of the vast Afro-Arab nation. The RSF, whose forerunner is a notorious militia known as the Janjaweed, controls the entire western Darfur region, except for one city held by the army, and parts of Kordofan to the south-west. The army and its allies have yet to make a concerted effort to retake Darfur and Kordofan from the RSF, where it maintains the bulk of its forces and has allies among powerful rebel groups. Gen Dagalo is a one-time cattle trader and Janjaweed fighter who rose to national prominence through the patronage of former dictator Omar Al Bashir. In contrast, Mr Idris is a former UN diplomat educated in Switzerland, Egypt and the US, as well as his native Sudan. RSF view In desert camouflage, Gen Dagalo told hundreds of his fighters that the army and its allies were nothing more than criminal gangs of thieves. He also repeated his long-standing charge that Gen Al Burhan was relying on Islamists loyal to the toppled regime of Al Bashir. Standing on the back of an all-terrain vehicle at an unspecified site in Darfur, Gen Dagalo appeared to underscore the de facto partition of Sudan, speaking of the region in terms more akin to an independent nation rather than an integral part of Sudan. The RSF's administration of Darfur – by far the worst-affected area of Sudan in terms of hunger and famine – would achieve self-sufficiency in food following the rainy season, he said. The RSF, he added, would also secure international humanitarian assistance for Darfur's ethnically diverse residents. He did not elaborate. Gen Dagalo sought to portray the RSF as a protector of the country. He spoke of the paramilitary's role in safeguarding Sudan's northern border after his fighters recently seized the area where the borders of Egypt, Sudan and Libya converge, with Chad's a short distance to the west. "If our control of the border triangle has not benefited our neighbours, at least it has brought them no harm," he said. "The triangle and the desert are a bastion of corruption, smuggling, terrorism and illegal migration," Gen Dagalo told his fighters. Sudanese political analyst Osman Fadlallah said the speech "transcended the language of war to become presidential-like". He added: "Dagalo is proceeding with growing confidence in presenting himself as a substitute to rule Sudan, or at least to enshrine a parallel role in areas under RSF control." Army view In sharply contrasting style, Mr Idris, in a dark business suit and tie, delivered his speech at a studio, using a prompter to paint a rosy picture of the future of the resource-rich but impoverished nation under his stewardship. He said his government would end nepotism and operate based on justice, transparency and rule of law, said Mr Idris, whose inaugural address to the nation last month included segments directed at the West that he delivered in English, French and Spanish. He called on top experts and professionals who want a place in his cabinet to send him their biographies through a social media address he said he would later publicise. "It will be called 'the government of hope'," he declared, and it would strive to achieve security, prosperity and a life with dignity for the Sudanese. Nearly a month after he was appointed Prime Minister, only two positions in his proposed cabinet of 22 have been filled: the interior and defence portfolios, whose occupants are traditionally picked by the military. "The government of hope is a fragile and elitist project," said Mr Fadlallah. "Idris seeks to formulate a new reality that's immune to the present situation, while Dagalo wants to enshrine the outcome of the war thus far." Sudan, a nation of 50 million, has been plagued by a series of civil wars and economic crises since its independence in 1956. Compounding its woes have been frequent military coups, ushering in authoritarian regimes invariably toppled by uprisings brought brief spells of democratic government. The current civil war in Sudan is, in large part, a continuation of that pattern. Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo together staged a coup in 2021 that removed the transitional government that followed Al Bashir's downfall in 2019. The coup derailed the nation's shift to democratic rule and drew international sanctions that battered the economy, just as it was showing signs of recovery, albeit slowly. Differences between the two generals over the role of the army and the RSF in a democratic Sudan grew ominously tense in 2022 before violence broke out in April 2023. Both the army and the RSF are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during their war.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Amir receives phone call from chairman of Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council
DOHA: His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has received a phone call from Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of Sudan HE Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan. During the phone call, Al Burhan affirmed his country's solidarity with the State of Qatar and its strong condemnation of the Iranian attack on Al Udeid Air Base, which constitutes a stark violation of the State of Qatar's sovereignty and airspace, as well as of international law and the UN Charter. He also stressed his country's absolute rejection of any aggression that threatens the security and safety of the State of Qatar and undermines the security and stability of the region, calling on HH the Amir to exercise self-restraint and resort to diplomatic solutions. For his part, HH the Amir expressed his thanks to Al Burhan for his sincere fraternal feelings and valued solidarity with the State of Qatar and its people.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Risk of genocide in Sudan ‘very high': UN
GENEVA: The risk of genocide in Sudan's devastating civil war remains 'very high,' amid ongoing ethnically motivated attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a top UN official warned Monday. Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced 13 million, including 4 million who fled abroad, triggering what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. 'Both parties have committed serious human rights violations,' said Virginia Gamba, a UN under-secretary-general and acting special adviser to UN chief Antonio Guterres on the prevention of genocide. 'Of specific concern to my mandate is the continued and targeted attacks against certain ethnic groups, particularly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions,' she told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She highlighted in particular that the RSF and allied armed militias 'continue to conduct ethnically motivated attacks against the Zaghawa, Masalit and Fur groups.' 'The risk of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Sudan remains very high,' Gamba warned.
The National
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
How Sudan's army is allowing Islamists to regain dominance in exchange for battlefield support
It has been a tumultuous journey for Sudan's Islamists since 2019, when the authoritarian regime of their patron Omar Al Bashir was removed from power in a popular uprising. But those trying times, according to Sudanese analysts who spoke to The National, appear to have come to an end, with the Islamists now the single most dominant force in Sudan's complex political landscape. Their alliance with the army in the two-year-old war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces now seems to have brought them back from the political wilderness. Many of these militant Islamist groups operate under the name "The Islamist Movement" but in reality embrace a doctrine inspired almost entirely by the Muslim Brotherhood, which was recently banned in Jordan and is designated a terrorist group by several Arab states. That means war-torn Sudan could become their last refuge if they are allowed to return to power. "The individuals who ruled Sudan during the days of Al Bashir are now the ones who dominate the scene," said prominent analyst Osman Al Mirghany. "They are all inside Sudan, and their volunteer fighters are their most important political tool." Experts believe it's an alliance dictated in large part by necessity, not conviction, and the Islamists and the army could very well be the opposing sides in a conflict likely to begin after the current war is over. That war could start even earlier if the army decides to retake the reins, with Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan – the armed forces' chief and Sudan's de facto leader – deciding to tee up for a power grab, they explained. "The best case scenario for the Islamists is to recreate conditions similar to the Al Bashir era. But that will mean the return of international economic sanctions, the erosion of their power base and the populace's loss of hope in change," said political analyst Mahmoud Said. "That will trigger another popular uprising that could be more violent than the one that toppled Al Bashir in 2019," he warned. "Moreover, the possibility of a violent confrontation between the military and the Islamists is real since both are vying for power." Already, radical Al Bashir loyalists, including clerics, have been claiming that Islamist militias, not the army, should take the credit for the string of battlefield gains against the RSF in recent months. Those claims have drawn an angry response from Gen Al Burhan, whose critics accuse him of being a closet Islamist himself. He denies the charge, despite his growing alliances with Islamists. Sudan has since 2019 seen Al Bashir disgraced and jailed, his top lieutenants imprisoned and their assets taken away as authorities of the new order went about dismantling the legacy of what had been one of the world's most enduring dictatorships. It was not long before the Islamists received a reprieve from measures to limit their role, overseen by the transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. A 2021 coup staged by Gen Al Burhan and his ally at the time, RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo, ushered in the start of their comeback after months in which the pair harshly berated the government and its policies. Ostensibly staged to spare the vast and ethnically and religiously diverse country a possible civil war and bring about political inclusion, the coup toppled Mr Hamdok's government and derailed the democratic transition protesters advocated during the bloody 2018-19 uprising. The anti-Islamist moves pursued by Mr Hamdok's government was halted by the coup leaders, with droves of Al Bashir loyalists reinstated in key government jobs and sympathetic judges overturned rulings that froze the assets of businesses and organisations linked to Al Bashir's now-dissolved National Congress Party. Al Bashir's feared security agencies were given back the wide powers they had during the dictator's 29-year rule but taken away after his fall; and hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were killed on the streets by security forces. But tension was soon to surface between the two generals and it did not take long for it to turn into open conflict in April 2023. Many blame the Islamists for igniting the war, but there has been no concrete evidence to support that claim besides the assumption that a paramilitary force not run by Islamists would always be a major hurdle on the Islamists' path back to power. Short of boots on the ground, run out of the capital by the RSF and embroiled in a bitter feud with liberal politicians, Gen Al Burhan turned to the Islamists for help; and they were happy to oblige, seeing the fight against the RSF as a way to increase their influence. "The SAF (Sudanese armed forces) today is less a national army than a coalition of necessity," said US-based analyst Ezzat Khairi. "They (the army and the Islamists) are united, not by a vision for Sudan, but by a common goal: to crush the idea of a democratic Sudan," he explained. "Al Burhan, whether by design or drift, has aligned himself with the very forces the revolution tried to remove. And, yet, some still think the army will save Sudan." Gen Al Burhan has denied he was in a direct alliance with the Islamists, arguing that the powerful volunteer brigades fighting on his side against the RSF were made up of men who left their ideologies at the door before joining the battle for Sudan's 'salvation'. But the analysts insist the alliance does in reality exist, with the notorious Al Bashir-era militias that were disbanded after the dictator's fall regrouped to fight on the side of the army. "For 30 years, Al Bashir invested heavily in the armed forces to turn it into a political force to implement his programme," said Shawki Abdel Azeem, a pro-democracy politician. "Joining the war allowed them to collect a handsome return on years of work to fill the ranks with loyalists." The army's alliance with the Islamists has not escaped the attention of the RSF propaganda machine, whose political discourse is dominated by rhetoric of inclusion, democracy and ridding the nation of the Islamists, whose time in power saw the Afro-Arab nation of 50 million roiled in corruption, crippling economic woes and international isolation and sanctions. The RSF's narrative has resonated with some members of Sudan's liberal political establishment as well as rebel groups in the West and south of the country who see Gen Al Burhan and his top lieutenants guilty of allowing remnants of the Al Bashir regime to make a political comeback. Gen Al Burhan has labelled those politicians "traitors" while the military-backed prosecution issued arrest warrants for many of them. Gen Al Burhan was in Cairo this week for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi whose 11-year rule in Sudan's powerful northern neighbour is based in large part on zero tolerance of political Islam. Sources briefed on their talks said Gen Al Burhan explained to his host that the "presence" of Islamists on the scene was still needed as his army and the allied militias prepare to retake vast areas still under RSF control in the western Darfur region and parts of Kordofan to the south-west of Khartoum. "He is a religious man but he is not an Islamist in the Al Bashir mould," said one of the sources about Gen Al Burhan. "Many of his officers and several top generals are."
