The Sudanese army has warned that the country’s biggest paramilitary group is mobilising troops in cities across the country.
In a statement released in the early hours of Thursday, the military accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of clearly breaking the law.
There are growing fears of a confrontation between the two sides. The RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagolo, played a key role when the army seized power in Sudan in 2021.
This week, leaders failed to meet a deadline to form a civilian-led government. The breakdown of the talks has been blamed on differences between rival military factions.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been accused of widespread abuses in Sudan, including the June 3 massacre in which more than 120 people were reportedly killed, with many of the dead dumped in the River Nile. Sudan expert, Alex de Waal, charts their rise.
The RSF are now the real ruling power in Sudan. They are a new kind of regime: a hybrid of ethnic militia and business enterprise, a transnational mercenary force that has captured a state.
Their commander is General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagolo, and he and his fighters have come a long way.
The RSF was formally established by decree of then-President, Omar al-Bashir, in 2013. But their core of 5,000 militiamen had been armed and active long before then.
Their story begins in 2003, when Mr Bashir’s government mobilised Arab herders to fight against black African insurgents in Darfur.
The core of the Janjaweed were camel-herding nomads from the Mahamid and Mahariya branches of the Rizeigat ethnic group of northern Darfur and adjoining areas of Chad – they ranged across the desert edge long before the border was drawn.
During the 2003-2005 Darfur war and massacres, the most infamous Janjaweed leader was Musa Hilal, chief of the Mahamid.
As these fighters proved their bloody efficacy, Mr Bashir formalised them into a paramilitary force called the Border Intelligence Units. —BBC
