Sudan: Fears of confrontation between army and paramilitary

The mobilization in capital Khartoum and other cities of a paramilitary force headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to as Hemetti, had raised the risk of confrontation with the federal armed forces, the Sudanese army said this Thursday April 13.

The mobilization of the powerful paramilitary, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), represented a “clear violation of law,” the army said in a rare comment on an ongoing 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 coordination with it,” the army spokesman said, adding that “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 two decades 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 and then the two carried out another coup in October 2021.

The RSF responded by stating it deploys across the country as part of its duties and as part of its “national forces operating within the framework of the law, and in full coordination with the leadership of the armed forces.” Hemeti is now deputy leader of Sudan’s ruling council, which took power after a coup by the army and RSF in late 2021.

However, he has recently pulled away from military colleagues and found common ground with a civilian political alliance. According to military forces, Sudan’s army demanded RSF’s withdrawal from Marawi within 24 hours. The two armed bodies have been vying for supremacy as the army tries to establish its authority over all the country’s military forces and the RSF works to maintain its independence since al-Bashir’s overthrow.