Sudan plunged into civil war

Adv. PS Sreekumar

The civil war that started in Sudan on April 15 between the army (SAF) and the paramilitary (RSF) continues unabated. Not only did the clashes continue despite a three-day ceasefire brokered by Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the occasion of Eid, but firing and explosions continued regularly in many parts of the country. Both the army chiefs have issued separate statements saying that the clash between the two army units has been stopped for the time being. Both forces have stated that the ceasefire has been announced to allow citizens to buy essentials, escape to safe places and evacuate their citizens to foreign countries. Taking advantage of this opportunity, countries including India are repatriating their citizens to their respective countries. The central government has informed that all the 3500 odd Indians in Sudan have been brought back. So far, 512 people have been killed, over 4,200 people have been injured and nearly 1,00,000 people have lost their homes and fled to neighboring countries as refugees, according to the figures released by organizations including Human Rights Watch.

  In the shadow of totalitarianism

From the end of the century until 1956, Sudan was under the joint administration of Britain and Egypt. Sudan became an independent nation on January 1, 1956 after gaining independence from Britain. Sudan is internationally recognized for its frequent military coups. The struggle for power between the Muslim-majority North Sudan and the Christian-tribal-dominated South Sudan has always been great. For 30 years from 1989 to 2019, the Republic of Sudan was under the military rule led by Colonel Omar Al Bashir. Omar Bashir gained notoriety for suppressing dissenting voices, committing human rights violations, persecuting minorities, and supporting terrorist activities internationally. The main tribes of Darfri in South Sudan fought together with other people for the liberation of South Sudan. As part of that, they attacked the military base in Darfur in 2003. In the ensuing war, the army led by Colonel Basheer massacred over three lakh tribal people. On that day, more than one million people fled from the land of riots to neighboring countries. After years of armed insurgency, South Sudan became an independent country in 2011.

Those who stood together were separated

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the SAF (Sudanese Armed Force), and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary RSF (Rapid Support Force), joined forces with Bashir to ruthlessly suppress dissenting voices against his regime. A popular uprising against Bashir's authoritarian and anti-people policies that began in 2018 ended with his ouster. Bashir was ousted in April 2019 along with Burhan and Dagalo, who were in the top positions of the military units under the cover of popular uprising. According to the agreement reached between the protesters and the army, it was decided to share power. The representatives of both groups formed a committee called the Sovereign Council. According to the agreement, General Burhan, the head of the Sovereign Council, and Abdullah Hamdok, the leader of the agitators, became the prime minister. The agreement was to hold elections in a democratic manner in 2023 and give the power completely to the people.

In October 2021, Prime Minister Hamdock was ousted and Burhan took over the government, contrary to the agreement made with the leaders of the popular agitation. Dagola was put to second and Burhan held on. After discussing with the leaders of the popular agitators again, it was agreed that elections could be held in July 2023. Another condition of the agreement was to merge the RSF into the army and form a unified army within two years. . The final agreement in this regard is already scheduled to be signed in April. But Dagonte's opinion was that the merger should not be done immediately. Dagola could not mentally adjust to this condition. Because they are the ones who find out the financial source of the RSF, of which he is the head. Their inexhaustible pot is the gold mines of Darfur. The rift between Burhan and Dagola and the tug of war for power and wealth led to a civil war.

Burhan has Egypt and Jordan to help him. Dagon is also strongly supported by the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force. Eritrea and a section of Libya are behind the scenes with Dagon. No matter who wins this race for power, it is the starving poor common people of Sudan who will suffer and suffer hell. The people of Sudan are without food, medicine and Fleeing from the war zone. The time has come for the African Union, the United Nations or the Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE to come forward to negotiate with the two sections of the army and create a peaceful atmosphere.

PS, Sreekumar

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A Sudanese military camp in Darfuri region was attacked and caused heavy damage. With that, on Bashir's instructions, the Sudanese army launched a mass offensive to exterminate the Darfuri tribesmen. Human rights organizations have revealed that about three lakh to four lakh people were killed.