2023-07-29 08:54:58
For the past 20 years, Sudan has been in a state of socio-economic-political instability and chaos. The latest developments from Sudan indicate that the dreams of the Sudanese people to reach a democratic system will be a long time coming. What is happening in Sudan..? What is the socio-political crisis facing the country? A power struggle between Sudan’s official military wing, led by Lt. Gen. Abdul Fattah Abdul Rahman Al Burhan, and the Rapid Support Force, a paramilitary group led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. At its simplest, the current situation can be described as such.
In 2019, the anger of the people who had been oppressed by President Omar Bashir’s brutal rule for decades took the form of a historic revolution. With every slogan they kept saying loudly that they wanted democracy. A few months later two men, one former army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan..
The other person, Muhammad Hamadan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, promised the people of Sudan that they would see the people’s democracy they wanted. But following four years, these two are fighting each other fiercely. Sudan has been torn apart and hundreds of Sudanese have been massacred and the war is intensifying. How might these two men become enemies in such a short period of time to such a terrible situation…
What Sudan has to say is a series of military coups. The Sudanese Armed Forces or SAF, the official military wing, has been asserting a strong presence in the country for the past century. The military has exercised this power since Sudan’s independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule. The first military coup occurred in Sudan in 1958. Ibrahim Aboud, a military officer, ousts Abdullah Khalil, a retired military officer and current democratic prime minister, and seizes power.
A decade later, in 1969, Colonel Jafar Kemeri succeeded in another military coup, ousting Prime Minister Ismail al-Zari. That was the end of that short-lived democratic rule. In 1985, Jafar Kemiri was fired by a military officer named Abdel al-Dahab. In 1989, four years following the establishment of the new democratic government, Colonel Omar Bashir overthrew the government and announced himself as the new head of the new country.
Omar al-Bashir- The master of coup-proofing tactics.
Omar al-Bashir was different from all those who came to power before. In the context of military coups in the country, Bashir was sure that his regime would also be overthrown. So he devised a new military strategy. Koop proofing. He was surrounded by a group of loyal army military officers for protection.
That is what started the current official army of Sudan. Bashir kept the army with him during his reign and established a strong relationship with them. Bashir has taken very strong positions in favor of the military, including in the ongoing civil insurgency in South Sudan. Meanwhile, another civil conflict was brewing in the northern region of Darfur.
The people of this region have historically been the most neglected group. They did not even have access to basic facilities including medicine and food and there was no representation of the Sudanese government in that area. This upset the people. They rose up with protests. While Bashir’s official army was busy in southern Sudan in 2003, it relied on local Arab militants known as the Janjaweed to quell popular protests in northern Darfur.
The Janjaweed was a brutal sect that only focused on wiping out dissenting voices and the common people. About 3000 villages were destroyed in their attack in the Darfur region. History records that thousands of Dafar natives died in these riots, their good deeds extended to massacres, rapes and mass evacuations.
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These events show another fact. Bashar was clear regarding how to consolidate his power in Sudan. Janjaweed thus became another safe haven for Bashar. Some in this organization took Bashir’s trust very seriously. Muhammad Hamadan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, was the first. The word Hemeti means my protection in Arabic
South Sudan declared independence in 2011, temporarily ending its civil war. This not only dealt a blow to Bashar’s sovereignty but also left him in a vulnerable position. Because a good percentage of the country’s oil producing centers were in South Sudan, Sudan’s economic situation became a heavy blow. Later it was seen that Bashir was giving official titles to Hemeti and his group. 2013 Rapid Support Force or RSF, a paramilitary force, was formed.
Initially this paramilitary force was under the Intelligence Physical Branch. Bashar kept RSF with him. Bashir provided all financial cooperation to Hemeti and RSF to always maintain their credibility. They were also given control over some gold mines in the Dafar region. In addition, they were given authority to smuggle weapons and minerals into Libya and Chad. In these countries, RSF sent its forces to the war front and they earned money in return, while Bashir tried to keep these two forces strong by giving more powers to the SAF, the official army in the field of telecommunications, the main industry of the country. 2018 uprisings broke out.
This was when Sudan was at its greatest economic instability. Facing popular protest is the biggest challenge for Bashir. The RSF also allocated 60 to 70% of its budget to the official force for its protection, the Saaf. This sparked the biggest popular uprising in Sudan’s history. Then it was repeated in different areas of the country. Bashir forced to move the capital to Khartoum as the protests intensified.
He refused to relinquish his position even following fierce protests. Both military factions have inflicted massive repression on civilians in Sudan. They kept clamoring for freedom. But they did not back down from their protest. Gradually the RSF lost faith in Bashar’s leadership. Thus, in 2019, a surprising and unexpected move was made by both forces, which surprised the people of Sudan. Senior officers of the official force, the SAF, clashed with Hemiti, the leader of the paramilitary force, the RSF, and Bashir was removed from power.
People were celebrating Bashir’s ouster but they didn’t trust the forces that made it possible. A day following the coup, former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized control of Sudan’s northern region. Hemeti and Abdail seized complete Sudanese control.
The people of Sudan considered both of them to be completely guilty in the current situation. It did not take long for the two to turn once morest the people of Sudan. Pro-democracy protests continued to grow in Khartoum. Bashir later saw Hemeti and his army weakening. On June 3, 2019, RSF killed around 100 protesters and such massacres continued throughout the country.
What was seen later were the efforts made by the United States and its Arab allies to bring Sudan to democracy. Leaders of the African Union, the UK and Ethiopia, have called for democratic governance and power-sharing in Sudan. The agreement called for representatives from the agitators and the military to form part of such a transitional regime.
According to this, the power of the country will be with the army for 21 months. The next 18 months will be for the people. The agreement was that the military should gradually hand over the powers to the people and become a democratic country. But Burhan and Hemeti rejected the opposition from the people and took charge of the transfer administration. Burhan became the chairman of the council and Himeti the vice-chairman. At first it was by agreement. The council was working. Abdullah Hamdok was crowned as the new Prime Minister.
But it did not last long. In 2021, Abdullah Hamdo resigned in January 2022 following a military coup. Again the power came to Burhan and Hemati. But Hemedi was never satisfied with second place. During this time Burhan established his personal influence in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. At the same time, Hemiti’s attempt to establish relations with Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, America and China through his gold mines was a year for the Sudanese people who were disturbed by protests once more.
The United States, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Britain were once once more pushing the two leaders to reach an agreement. Another People’s Power Transfer Government was formed in April 2023 by Burhan, Hemeti and the regional political parties of the country. But the two differed on a key proposition in the treaty. The proposal aimed to make the paramilitary force RSF Burhan’s official force and thus reduce Hemeti’s power.
With this, it is possible to see in Sudan today, the military groups are holding guns once morest each other for those who have moved in the same direction. Burhan is backed by the Air Force. It is this air force that is causing the most deaths in Sudan today. At the same time, Hemeti, the owner of the gold mine, plans to consolidate his power by sending more people to the army.
Thousands die in Sudan every day. Tens of thousands have fled. Ceasefire agreements are violated daily. Discussions on the war fronts are endless. Burhan and Hemeti ..these two people are casting a black shadow on the independence and democratic dreams of the Sudanese people. Even when they repeat that they have the back of the global people, their hopes and martyrdom do not get anywhere.
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