Mutual accusations between the two parties to the conflict in Sudan and fears of a civil war
The battles in Sudan entered their third week with a new
breach of the ceasefire by both sides of the conflict, as the sounds of clashes
rose in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on the morning of Monday, May 1,
despite the extension of the ceasefire, at a time when the United Nations
warned of a “moment of collapse” on the humanitarian level. The Sudanese army
said on Monday morning, “The country inherited a heavy burden as a result of
the former regime's mistake in forming the Rapid Support Forces, and within 15 days we reduced its combat capabilities by 45-55%,”
while the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced the classification of the
Central Reserve Police (CRP) as a “combatant and hostile force.”
Army gains
In a statement on its official Facebook page, the Sudanese
army said, “The country has inherited a heavy burden for the strategic mistake
of the defunct regime by forming the Rapid Support Forces. The Sudanese state
is now paying a heavy price for sabotaging the country and terrorizing and
plundering the citizens.”
“We assure our citizens that it will not give up on
achieving its aspirations so that the clock will not turn back, and we will not
allow the country to make any distortions in its military structure again
except through the gate of the Sudanese armed forces, no matter how high the
cost,” the statement added.
Regarding the situation in the field, the army stated that
“the enemy mobilized in the capital to carry out the plot until the morning of
April 15 with huge forces with great equipment, which amounted to 27,135
fighters, 39,490 recruits, 1,950 combat vehicles, 104 armored personnel
carriers, and 171 double-cab box vehicles armed with machine guns.”
The Sudanese army also said that “our forces managed, during
15 fighting days, to reduce its combat capabilities by 45-55% of its combat
capabilities, which it mobilized to kidnap the Sudanese state, confiscate its
decision and destroy its armed forces.” There was no immediate comment from the
RSF about this statement.
Rapid Support Forces
For his part, the second in command of the Rapid Support
Forces (RSF), Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, told Al-Jazeera that their forces
still control their positions in the Republican Palace, radio and television,
and the Khartoum airport.
He also added that RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
Hemedti “directs the political and military battle from the field,” and that
the forces receive instructions from him, adding that the RSF continue to
confront army reinforcements coming from the states.
With regard to the start of the
deployment of the Central Reserve Police in locations in Khartoum, Dagalo said
that they classify these forces as a “combatant and hostile force.”
He also added that they asked the deputy director of the
police forces not to include them in the fighting, but the latter did not
respond. Dagalo accused what he described as elements of the isolated regime of
being responsible for the looting of banks in Khartoum.
Civil war
Regarding the danger of war and its expansion, videos spread
on the pages of many Sudanese citizens asserting that this war is absurd and
could lead to the people taking up arms, and here lies the real danger. A
Sudanese citizen said in one of the videos, “This is the war of the generals,
and the citizen has no interest in it. The officials, headed by the Minister of
Finance, are demanding that they show up and return their money to the people
so that they can dispose of their daily affairs.”
Political activist Mohamed al-Asbat said, “Although the
truce was extended for another three days, the data on the ground says that the
truce will not be adhered to, and the most dangerous variable in this war is
its movement outside the capital, especially the state of West Darfur in the El
Geneina area, which is a very complex ethnic and racial area and a model of the
disaster that will result from the transfer of the war to other regions, where
it will turn into a civil war in which the fighting will be based on race. This
civil war will certainly not stop at the borders of Sudan but will move to its
neighboring countries. Sudan shares its borders with seven countries, and all
these countries are linked with Sudan by common tribes, half of which are in
Sudan and the other half in those countries. Therefore, if the African Union,
IFAD, the United Nations and the international community do not rectify this
danger and strive with all their efforts to stop the war, things will be more
dangerous if the war continues for more than another week.”
Asbat added that, as for the vigils that took place outside
Sudan to stop the war, which the Muslim Brotherhood claims to have launched,
those who carried them out were Sudanese activists and citizens who have
nothing to do with the Brotherhood from near or far, but rather they follow
civil political parties inside Sudan and the Sudanese civil society, and they
demand an end to the war and bringing those responsible for it to justice and
prosecution, and 28 countries around the world witnessed these stances.
