Sudan: Misplaced Aspirations of Two Army Generals Turned A Country Into A Hell

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 28 April 2023 Gen. Al Burhan And Gen. Dagalo Bay For Each Other's Blood Main Points: 1. The Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Force fight for supremacy. 2. More than 500 people have died in the crossfire. 3. Dictator Omar al Bashir had formed RAF to prevent any coup by the army. 4. RAF was used by Bashir against pro-democracy protesters. 1. 5.Three day ceasefire ends tonight. ----- People have used the relative lull in fighting to go outside their homes (Reuters) ----- Sudan, a country of 40 million people of whom 97 percent population is Muslim.is going through a civil war due to the ego clash and misplaced aspirations of two army generals. The African country that was ruled by dictator Omar al Bashir till 2019 and had seen a transition to a democratic system has plunged into bloody internal conflict since April 15 in which more than 500 people have died and more than 4000 people have been injured. The root of the conflict is the paramilitary force called RSF or Rapid Support Forces formed by the former dictator Omar al Bashir in 2002 to crush a rebellion in Darfur and to prevent any coup attempt by the army. The RSF was also used by Bashir to crush the pro-democracy protests in 2019 and earlier. Omar al Bashir made it a semi- organised paramilitary force and gave their leaders the status of army officers. On 11 April, RSF forces were deployed near the city of Merowe and Khartoum. The government forces saw it as a threat and ordered them to leave the place. But Dagalo 's RSF refused to leave and took control of Sobo military base and Khartoum. This was the immediate cause of the current conflict between RSF and SAF. The RSF is said to have 70,000-110,000 fighters including battle hardened army veterans while the SAF has 220,000 soldiers. However, the RSF headed by Dagalo has military support of Russia as its fighters have received training from Russia. Russia's private military Wagner group is,also said to have provided support to RSF. The RSF was headed by Gen. Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo alias Hemedti. Under Dagalo, the RSF committed large scale massacre, mass rapes, torture and pillage. Since Bashir depended much on Dagalo for survival as the dictator, he gave Dagalo a free hand in the management of gold mines in Darfur through which he amassed huge wealth. Dagalo killed more than hundred protesters in 2019 but when he realised that Omar Al Bashir will not survive the uprising ignited by rising prices of bread, he allied with the Army general Al Burhan and forced Bashir to step down. From then on an army- civilian alliance was running the semi - democratic government with Gen. Al Burhan as Chairman and Dagalo as the Deputy Chairman of the alliance government. But in 2019, Al Burhan again staged a coup and the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Al Burhan became the country's de facto ruler. Since then the conflict between Al Burhan and Dagalo has intensified. The RSF is loyal to Dagalo while the Sudanese Army is headed by Abdal Fatah al Burhan. The battle of supremacy between Al Burhan and Dagalo alias Hemedti turned into a civil war on April 15 during the holy month of Ramadhan. The most unfortunate aspect of the conflict is that it turned into a full fledged war duing the holy month of Ramadhan. The two sides did not stop fighting even on the day of Eid. The entire country has been ravaged by bombings and shelling. Essential services have been hit and people do not have access to water, electricity and even to medical aid. The two factions have not spared hospitals and have even used hospitals for attacking each other. Many hospitals have stopped working due to shortage of medicines. The bone of contention between Al Burhan and Dagalo is the integration of the RSF into the Sudanese Army but Dagalo will not content with a junior post. Dagalo wants integration of the RSF within ten years while Al Burhan wants it in two years. Another bone of contention between the two generals is the economic interests of the forces. It was said earlier that Dagalo had authority over the gold mines in Darfur which were a source of huge wealth for Dagalo and Omar al Bashir. Therefore, when RSF is integrated into the Sudanese forces, Dagalo may his control over the gold mines. That is the reason he wants the integration to take ten years. The sooner the integration, the sooner he will lose his source of wealth and authority. Perhaps Sudan's army and Dagalo's forces emulate Pakistan's army's economic model which is a constant source of wealth for retired army generals and officers. It should be noted that Pakistan army is the world's biggest business conglomerate having annual revenue of $26 billion. The Pakistan Army invests in real estate, manufactures steel, furniture, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, cereals, processed meat and runs sugar mills etc. under Fauji Foundation. Sudan's civil war is the result of the tussle for control of the natural resources between the Al Burhan and Hemedti factions. And for this, both have ignored the Islamic principles of warfare and moral compulsions. They shelled residential complexes killing and injuring civilians, during the Ramadhan and on the day of Eid. They did not allow humanitarian aid to reach the civilians. After the Eid, they agreed on a 72 hour ceasefire that ends tonight. The United Nations Security Council convened meeting on Monday in which the members called for an immediate end to the war but the two factions seem to believe in defeating each other in war. Both Dagalo and Al Burhan vow to punish each other for treason and claim that they are fighting for the people of Sudan. The Secretary General of the United Nations raised concern over the humanitarian crisis arising out of the war. He said: "Reports from Khartoum paint a devastating picture: people are trapped indoors, terrified, with dwindling supplies of food, water medicines and fuel, health services are near collapse and several hospitals are being used by armed groups. Across the country, there have been reports of armed clashes; people have fled their homes in Blue Nile and North Kordofan States and across Darfur, with refugees and returnees having arrived in Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. This power struggle is lighting a fuse that could make an already catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Sahel even worse, setting back development by decades. All parties — General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”, Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces — must silence the guns. They must put the interests of the people front and centre, respect the ceasefire and establish the permanent cessation of hostilities. This conflict will not and must not be resolved on the battlefield with the bodies of Sudan’s children, women and men. The United Nations stands with the Sudanese people." Sudan's internal conflict that has continued for more than three decades has been the cause of death of millions and displacement of millions. The forces have massacred and raped thousands of people to suppress the popular uprising. Omar al Bashir and other politicians have been declared war criminals by the International Criminal Court and have been in jail. Two days ago, they managed to flee the jail in Khartoum taking advantage of the chaos but the army claimed they are in its custody. The civil war in Sudan has once again shown that Muslims have not learnt to live in a democratic political system. So- called Islamic countries have been ruled by army. Egypt, Pakistan and African countries are some of the examples. The ceasefire between RSF and SAF ends tonight. While Sudan burns, the Islamic world looks on in silence. The OIC has no role to play. Only the United Nations is trying its best to resolve the conflict. URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/sudan-aspirations-army-generals-country-hell/d/129656 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism