SUDAN CONFLICT

1. Context 

2. About Sudan Conflict

• Sudan's military and its paramilitary forces have been involved in a fierce battle against each other since April 15, leaving at least 420 people dead and more than 3, 700 wounded.
• The clashes follow months of heightened tension between the Army Chief Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Force (RSF) head Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemetti.
• Both generals are at loggerheads as they fight for control of Sudan's major institutions.
• But this was not always the case. Burhan and Hamdan joined forces to oust authoritarian President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
• One reason, according to experts, for their fallout is the growing ambitions of Hamdan to lead Sudan.
• In recent years, he has amassed vast amounts of wealth, making his RSF stronger and a significant challenger to Burhan's army.

3. Rapid Support Forces in Sudan

• Although formally established in 2013, the RSF can trace its roots to the Janjaweed militias a group of Arab tribes primarily based in western Sudan, including the contentious region of Darfur.
• They were first armed and organised in the early 1980s to help government expand its influence in neighbouring civil-war-torn Chad.
• Janjaweed militias, who called themselves horsemen, came into global prominence in 2003 when they helped the Sudanese government quell a rebellion by peasants in Darfur. 
• While the military attacked by using air force and heavy weapons, Janjaweed perpetrated violence against the rebels and civilians in isolated areas.
• Men were mutilated and murdered, women raped and children kidnapped. Fields and houses were destroyed, wells poisoned and valuable goods seized.
• According to the United Nations, an estimated 300, 000 people were killed in the conflict between 2003 and 2008 and 2.5 million more were displaced.
• In 2007, the United States government led by President George Bush declared that violence in Darfur was "genocide" perpetrated by the government and its allied forces, including the Janjaweed militias.
• Subsequently, the International Criminal Court opened investigations into the genocidal violence, indicting Sudan's then-President Bashir, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in 2009.
• Despite the backlash, Janjaweed continued to grow, helping Bashir rule the country with an iron fist.
• The President gave the group an institutional veneer, as per NYT, in 2013, when it became the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Hamdan was appointed as its head.
• In the following years, RSF carried out brutal violence across Sudan, including committing war crimes in Darfur in 2014 and 2015 when civilians were displaced, raped, looted and killed.
• In 2019, the forces killed more than 100 people in the country's capital, Khartoum, during a protest against al-Bashir.
• Hundreds of unarmed civilians were injured and many more were sent to jail.

4. Strength of RSF

• RSF soon after its formal constitution began to expand owing to its proximity to Bashir.
• It became his praetorian guard, tasked with protecting the president from any coup attempt by the army.
• Then, in 2015, the paramilitary forces along with Sudan's Army began supplying troops to fight in the war in Yemen to support Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates troops.
• In return, Hamadan received money and weapons.
• Two years later, the forces partnered with the Russian mercenary Wagner Group to mine the vast gold reserves in Sudan.
• This further helped RSF and Hammad expand their political, economic and political influence resulting in a conflict with the country's army chief Burhan.
• The estimated RSF numbers between 70, 000 and 1, 50, 000 fighters and its members include former military and intelligence officers.
• The forces have also recruited more fighters from Sudan's east and north in an attempt to widen their support.