Supporters of former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019 in an overthrow, were fueling a split between the military and a powerful paramilitary group in Sudan that has stalled progress toward a regular citizen government. This split is fundamentally favorable to a majority rules system alliance.
Long-running disagreements came to the surface when the army issued a warning on Thursday about the possibility of a confrontation between its troops and fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Local and international actors met with army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who have been Sudan’s head of state and deputy head of state since they took part in the coup that toppled Islamist Bashir. This sparked a flurry of mediation offers.
According to a statement released by the Forces of Freedom and Change, a coalition of pro-democracy parties, “the ongoing events are the plan of loyalists of the former regime, aiming to destroy the political process.”
After Bashir’s overthrow, the FFC and the military had a power-sharing agreement until a second coup in 2021, when the army and RSF toppled civilian leaders and took control.
From militias fighting in the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s, the Rapid Support Forces evolved into a complex paramilitary organization with a lot of money and its own chain of command.
Conflicts between the military and the RSF over the change and mix of their powers have deferred the last marking of a political arrangement that would reestablish regular citizen government.
“Results were reached that had not been executed,” the FFC stated, referring to meetings it held with military leaders the previous week. It stated that they were still communicating.
Its leaders have stated that one of the primary goals of a new civilian government would be to eliminate Bashir loyalists from the civil service, who have resurfaced since the coup in October 2021.
People who were loyal to Bashir’s National Congress Party were given preference for government and military positions during his three decades in power.
This week, a leader of the NCP, which is now illegal, said that the group was intensifying its opposition to the deal, which calls for elections in two years.
A separate statement released on Thursday by civilian parties to the pending deal stated that NCP elements “aim to create discord between the armed forces and RSF and beat the drums of war” in order to regain power.
A craving to restrict the spread of political Islam is seen by examiners as a driver behind unfamiliar help for the arrangement, which has been interceded by Western and Bay powers, as well as the Unified Countries and African Association.
The so-called U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee made the following statement: “Sudan’s military leaders must deescalate tensions, and stakeholders should engage constructively to resolve outstanding issues and reach a political agreement.”
