Today, Sudan’s Army and a notorious paramilitary force had clashed in the capital Khartoum amid tensions over proposal for transition to civilian government. Witnesses report that the clash happened close to the Army Headquarters in the centre of the city. Smoke has been seen rising at the Khartoum Airport and there are reports of clashes near the Presidential Palace. The two sides are at dispute over who governs the country. Sudan has been run by the military since a coup in 2021. The International leaders have urged the two sides to talk and work towards restoring the country’s civilian rule.
The Military has been in charge for decades and even through the years before President Omar al-Bashir came into power in Sudan. Former President Omar toppled a military ruler, while he himself was in the military, so the military has been very entrenched in the politics and running of the affairs of Sudan. This is particularly why there has been weekly protest going on in Sudan, as the people are tired of being under the military rule. People have been demandingthe military to restore the civilian government and return back to their barracks. Now, there are talks about restructure of the army as they have firmly established themselves in, not just in politics but also in the economic affairs of the country. Therefore, there is so much concern and push for them to leave power.
Cause of tension in Sudan
At the center of recent tension in Sudan, are the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is the paramilitary group headed by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo,effectively the country’s Deputy Leader. As part of Sudan’s transition to civilian rule, the RSF were meant to be integrated to the army but now there is a standoff between the RSF and the head of the army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan over the timetable for the change and about the person in charge.
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces
Rapid Support Force (RSF) was formed around 2013 and was operating near the Darfur region. During that time this group was accused of committing various atrocities towards the people. When the former president Omar al-Bashir was removed from work, they played a big part in terms of coming together with the National Army led by the current leader of Sudan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and have been a part of the transitional Government which was being led by a civilian until October 2021. After the military coup in 2021, the civilian government was toppled and the military took over, in fact, the leader of RSF has been the 2nd in command in Sudan. Therefore, RSF is a very powerful outfit and is feared by many people in Sudan. People of Sudan wants this unit to be disbanded or integrated in the army.
Unrest in Sudan
Today’s incident was an escalation of what was seen in the last few weeks. The national army and Rapid Support Forces were both a part of the negotiations that were on-going to form a civilian government. They have thrice missed the deadline and last week it was seen that there was quite a bit of movement of RSF, taking their military armoured vehicles into a town in the north of Meroe, near the military base. This seemed to be the trigger for the clashes in both sides. Both sides claim the key installations including the airports and Presidential Palace. People in the areas have been sheltering themselves inside their houses as these clashes are happening mostly in the urban residential areas.
FAQ:
Who is Sudan President?
Ahmed al-Mirghani was Sudan’s elected President in 1986 and took over the power from Abdel Rahman transitional government. After three years, he was then overthrown by Omar al-Bashir in 1989. He tried to stand for presidency in 2000 but lost to Omar al-Bashir, who is Sudan’s current President.
Who was the commander in chief of Sudanese military?
After the independence of Sudan in 1956, Ibrahim Abboud was the commander in chief of Sudanese Army. After two years of Independence, the military overthrew the civilian government by staging a coup. General Abboud’s aim was to end the state of chaos, degeneration and instability in Sudan.
What’s going on in Sudan?
Sudan has been engaged in intense fighting between the Sudanese Military and the rival Paramilitary forces, who disagree over the plan to restore the civilian government after a coup by the military. Transition of power to the civilian government was set 18 months after the military coup, which removed long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
Who is Abdel Fattah al- Burhan?
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is the head of State and the army general of Sudan. In 2019, Al-Burhan was selected to lead Transitional Military Council, which was formed to govern Sudan, until a proper civilian government comes to power. In 2020 Juba agreement allowed Al-Burhan to continue to lead the Council without stepping down for 20 more months. In October 2021, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan started a coup-d’etat to seize power and dissolved the Council.
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