Sudan: No hope for peace as fighting intensifies

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan^[1] is reaching catastrophic proportions after three months of fierce fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the opposing Rapid Support Forces paramilitary organisation, or RSF. 

Ahmed Soliman, a Horn of Africa researcher at the London-based think tank Chatham House, told DW that the war in Sudan^[2] is becoming increasingly entrenched on both sides, with more and more people suffering the consequences.

"The worst fighting is taking place around Khartoum and surrounding towns, but also in Darfur," Soliman said. He added that the destruction of settlements and infrastructure in the region has only added to the overall devastation caused by the conflict, which has already resulted in massive waves of displacement and serious human rights violations.

'No quick solution' to Sudan conflict

According to the latest figures published by the International Organization for Migration, more than 3 million people have already been forced to flee their homes during the relatively short period of bloody conflict. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has meanwhile warned that an "all-out civil war" could lead to the "destabilisation" of the entire region^[3]. 

Soliman said the refugees included 2 million internally displaced persons, more than half of whom are children.

At least 180,000 people have been forced to seek safety in neighbouring Chad, especially those fleeing violence in the crisis-ridden province of Darfur, which has been plagued by conflict for 20 years.

This makes the conflict all the more explosive, Soliman said. He added that because the violence in Darfur is ethnic in nature, with cyclical patterns of violence, "there is no quick solution to this bloody conflict."

Regional power struggle

The violence of the past few months hardly serves as an indicator of what might yet follow. Since mid-April, Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah Burhan, and his adversary, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as "Hemeti", have used deadly violence in their fight for power^[4].

All attempts to bring calm to the situation have failed. Cease-fires between the warring parties have repeatedly been broken, and attempts at mediation have not yielded any success, Soliman said.

On Monday, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa invited the parties to attend a peace summit in the Ethiopian^[5] capital, Addis Ababa.

Neither Burhan nor Dagalo^[6] attended the meeting. The RSF sent a representative to the summit, while Sudan's government declined to attend the event altogether.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry has accused Kenya^[7] of taking sides in the conflict, saying the government would not be willing to participate in peace talks until Kenya relinquishes its chairmanship of the regional mediating states.

The Sudanese government claimed in a recent statement that Kenya had "adopted the positions of the RSF militia, sheltered its members and offered them various forms of support."

Previous peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also failed to produce results in May, further dimming hope for the warring factions to discuss their differences anytime soon.

Sudanese Armed Forces not interested in peace: RSF adviser

Soliman said the warring parties ultimately sought to achieve a strategic military capture of the other rather than laying down their arms. "They are currently unwilling to end the war and prioritise peace," he said.

Youssif Izzat, political adviser to RSF leader Dagalo, offered a different take on recent developments in Sudan. Izzat told DW that leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces are simply not interested in negotiations. He said that during the talks in Saudi Arabia^[8] in May, a cease-fire had been agreed upon between the delegations.

Izzat said army commanders from the south of the country had rejected the truce, however, keeping Sudan stuck in a cycle of violence. "The air force was striking everywhere and attacking even though we had signed a cease-fire," Izzat said.

'We need to take a new direction as a country'

Izzat said the underlying issue was not a personal rivalry between two senior military generals, but the overall future of both the military and the country at large.

Burhan and Dagalo had once been on the same side, with Dagalo serving as the military leader's official deputy. In 2019, they joined forces to depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir^[9] following mass protests across Sudan.

A year and a half ago, the coup in Sudan also saw both military men pursue the same overall goals in tandem: Burhan appointed himself chairman of the transitional council, with Dagalo once again serving as his deputy.

Burhan pledged to restore power to a civilian government following elections. However, that transition back to democracy is yet to follow, with no blueprint to that effect in place nor elections actually scheduled.

Izzat said the conflict has pitted people who support the democratic transition against those who seek to bring back the autocratic methods of the old regime. Militant Islamists^[10] and extremists, said Izzat, have further exacerbated the volatile political landscape.

"Now is the time for Sudan to become truly independent," Izzat said. "We need to take a new direction as a country. We don't want terrorism and IS to come back. We need to agree on the new policy, reform all institutions, including the south itself, and create a democratic federal system for the country. That is our goal."

If the RSF had its way, political negotiations among all Sudanese would begin immediately, Izzat said.

"We believe that the only way to solve the problem is not to be a dictatorial government or to rule the country as individuals," he said. He added that the RSF seeks to establish a democratic system that reflects the full diversity of Sudan.

Political gamble on both sides

Contrary to Izzat's assertions, it isn't always clear who is taking the side of democracy in this power struggle. Both the RSF militia and the Sudanese Armed Forces like to portray themselves as vanguards of democratic values.

Soliman said the baseline in the conflict was less about politics and more about long-term economic interests; after all, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF are the two largest employers in Sudan, making any predictions for the outcome of the conflict even more difficult.

According to Soliman, Burhan might have the upper hand for the time being, as his "official" military force enjoys the support of most countries in the region and has a better logistics network in place. Soliman said there were indications that Islamists and members of the former regime would also welcome a victory for the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Dagalo can hardly afford to back down from the conflict, Soliman said, as he seeks to run for public office whenever elections are finally held. However, whether he wins or loses the conflict, his reputation might already have suffered too much for him to expect much support at the ballot box.

"[The RSF] also bear responsibility for this bloody war," Soliman said. "They have committed terrible human rights violations, also with the help of the Russian Wagner Group, which provides logistical support to the RSF."

"If their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, now loses influence because of his rebellion against Russia's president, Putin^[11], the prospect of further arms deliveries to Dagalo's force will be uncertain."

DW made numerous requests for an interview with representatives of the Sudanese military government. By the time of publication, no response had been received.

Martina Schwikowski

© Deutsche Welle 2023

References

1. ^{^} humanitarian crisis in Sudan (en.qantara.de)
2. ^{^} Sudan (en.qantara.de)
3. ^{^} UNHCR has meanwhile warned that an "all-out civil war" could lead to the "destabilisation" of the entire region (en.qantara.de)
4. ^{^} Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah Burhan, and his adversary, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as "Hemeti", have used deadly violence in their fight for power (en.qantara.de)
5. ^{^} Ethiopian (en.qantara.de)
6. ^{^} Burhan nor Dagalo (en.qantara.de)
7. ^{^} Kenya (en.qantara.de)
8. ^{^} Saudi Arabia (en.qantara.de)
9. ^{^} long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir (en.qantara.de)
10. ^{^} Militant Islamists (en.qantara.de)
11. ^{^} Russia's president, Putin (en.qantara.de)