This East African country has been experiencing violent clashes since Saturday between the army and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces.
Sudan is on fire. Fighting pits the regular army against paramilitaries on Sunday April 16 for the second consecutive day in Khartoum, in a power struggle between the two generals in charge of the country since their putsch in 2021. The toll is 56 civilians killed in 24 hours. Franceinfo returns to this serious political crisis.
1 What is going on ?
For weeks they had been at odds politically. But on Saturday morning, the divisions between General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhane, head of the army, and General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, known as “Hemedti”, at the head of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR), escalated into violence. Rifles, artillery and combat aircraft were used in the capital and several cities in this country of 45 million inhabitants.
Sunday, again, the bombardments resounded in the deserted streets of Khartoum invaded by a strong smell of gunpowder. On social networks, doctors never stop calling for help, safe corridors for ambulances and a ceasefire to treat the victims.
According to AFP, it is impossible in the state to know which force is holding what. The FSR announced that they had taken the airport in a few hours on Saturday, but the army denied it. The FSR also said to hold the presidential palace. The army has also denied this and above all claims to hold the HQ of its staff, one of the main power complexes in Khartoum.
As for state television, the two parties claim to have taken control of it. In the surroundings, residents report continuous fighting while on the air – as during the putsch – only patriotic songs are broadcast without any commentary.
2 What is the human toll?
According to pro-democracy doctors, 56 civilians were killed, more than half in Khartoum and its suburbs, while “tens” soldiers and paramilitaries died without any precise toll being available. About 600 people were injured.
In western Darfur, three World Food Program (WFP) aid workers have been killed “doing their job”announced the UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes. He adds that “humanitarian buildings reportedly hit and others looted in Darfur”, historical stronghold of the FSR, won by fighting between the army and paramilitaries. The WFP announced the suspension of its operations in the country.
3 Who are the protagonists?
The conflict had been simmering for weeks between the two generals. One of the points of contention is the integration of paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces into the regular army.
Abdel Fattah Al-Burhane. This general is the head of the armed forces and the de facto number one in the country. As the story goes New York Times (in English), he served under former President Omar Al-Bashir and took over as head of the army following the dictator’s overthrow in April 2019. After the agreement signed that year between civilians and soldiers, Abdel Fattah Al -Burhane heads the sovereign council, a body meant to oversee the transition to democracy. But, on October 25, 2021, he overthrew the civilian government. Since the fighting began on Saturday, Al-Burhane has not made a public statement.
Hamdane Daglo, known as “Hemedti”. Since 2013, he has led the FSR, an army of paramilitaries from the Janjawid, these violent militias who fought the rebels in Darfur. Like his rival, he is linked to the dictator Omar El-Béchir, since it was the latter who appointed him to head the FSR. These have become over the years a powerful force. According to the BBC (in English)they have intervened in Yemen and Libya and control certain gold mines in Sudan.
In October 2021, Hamdane Daglo joined forces with Al-Burhane to take power, effectively becoming the country’s number two. Since Saturday, “Hemedti” chained interviews to Gulf television channels, of which several states are his allies. He multiplied the insults against his rival, described as “criminal”.
4 What are the reactions abroad?
The international community, which watched helplessly as the coup d’etat of October 2021 and has since failed to convince the generals to sign a plan to end the crisis, is increasing calls for a ceasefire. The latest came from Beijing. The Arab League meets urgently in Cairo, at the call of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two influential players in Sudan.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the two men to demand “an immediate end to the violence”. He also urged Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi to take action. His spokesperson also condemned the deaths of three World Food Program aid workers: those responsible must be “brought to justice as soon as possible”he demanded.