The Sudanese military yesterday warned of potential clashes with the country’s powerful paramilitary force, which it said deployed troops in the capital and other cities.
Tensions between the military and the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have escalated over the past few months, forcing a delay of the signing of an internationally backed deal with political parties to restore the country’s democratic transition.
In a statement, the military said the RSF buildup in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country has come without “the approval of, or coordination with” the armed forces’ leadership.
Photo: REUTERS
It said the RSF measures “have stirred up panic and fear among people, exacerbated security risks and increased tensions between regular forces.”
The military said it has attempted to “find peaceful solutions to such violations” to prevent an armed conflict with the RSF.
The military’s statement came as the RSF deployed troops in Northern Province on the border with Egypt.
Local media reported that the paramilitary force has attempted to build a military base there.
The RSF said its deployment across the country aims at “achieving security and stability, and fighting human trafficking and illegal migration.”
The tensions are rooted in the integration of the RSF into the military.
The RSF, led by powerful Sundanese General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, grew out of former militias that executed a brutal crackdown in the country’s Darfur region over the past two decades.
Sudan has plunged into chaos since a military coup in October 2021 removed a Western-backed power-sharing administration and dashed Sudanese aspirations for democratic rule after three decades of autocracy and repression under former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.
A months-long popular uprising forced the military’s overthrow of al-Bashir and his administration in April 2019. Since then, the former president, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over the Darfur conflict, has been imprisoned in Khartoum.
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