RSF joins with civilian government for territorial control in Sudan
In an uneasy step towards partition, the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) in Sudan, have agreed to work with a new civilian-led ‘peace government’ to oversee territories under their control, according to Reuters and The New Arab on 20th December.
The RSF has been fighting against the SAF and the national government of Sudan since April 2023 and presently controls territory in central and western Sudan, including Khartoum and the Darfur region.
The former government, which was pushed out of Khartoum during violence last year and now operates from Port Sudan, has been accused by the RSF of prolonging the civil war.
The RSF also said that it has no current links to the government, and that it would work with but not control the planned new administration and consolidate power in a military capacity.
There have been no further details on start dates for the new administration, nor how it would choose representatives, govern or raise funds, however it has been established that it would be based in Khartoum.
The official government in Port Sudan and the SAF, which currently controls the north and east has not provided comment. There continues to be discord between both groups, with both claiming to be the sole national power.
The RSF has been widely criticised by human rights groups, primarily for its violent suppression of pro-democracy protestors in 2019 and its violations of humanitarian law in the 2014/2015 War in Darfur.
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International response
Lack of faith in the RSF’s capacity to govern means that Western diplomats have not been eager to fully recognise this new administration.
Tom Perriello, the US Special Envoy to Sudan said that the new administration would be a step backward, and result in an atomisation of power.
Participants in negotiations between the RSF and civilian groups include officials who previously held power following the 2019 coup d’etat that resulted in a similar civilian-military government, such as former Sovereign Council member Mohamed al-Taishi.
There is yet to be an end in sight for the war between the RSF and the SAF, in which, tens of thousands of people have died, 12 million have been displaced, and hunger and disease have run rampant over the course of 2 years.
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Both sides have perpetuated violence, and embarked on ‘maximalist territorial claims’, according to Jalel Harchaoui, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London on the 15th December, and rights groups have observed that the UAE has been supplying advanced weaponry and funding to the RSF.
The lack of cooperation between the RSF and the official government and military, alongside unchecked foreign interference could potentially lead to a partition of the country.
Reuters/New Arab
