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The outbreak of Sudan’s civil war is a tragic tale of two runaway generals at odds with each other, both trying to convince us that it’s all just a continuation of the people’s revolution that toppled Omar al-Bashir’s dictatorship. 2019. Of course, this is a big lie, and there are a lot of people traveling around the world these days.
Sadly, even if unexpectedly, ordinary Sudanese were never allowed to carve out a political landscape that could introduce effective democracy into one of Africa’s largest countries.
Over the years I have spent many happy hours in Sudan with a group of peace activists who are developing a grassroots solution to Khartoum’s problems in Darfur.
Western skeptics dismissed our work as we focused on bringing peace to Darfur under the leadership of Lord Nazir Ahmed. Leaders worked together to bring about peace.
Little did we know at the time that General Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” was leading the so-called Janjaweed militia fighting the insurgents in Darfur. He later became head of a paramilitary militia established by Bashir, who sought to spread the military over to control it.
If Dagalo proves to be the loyal soldier Bashir sees as, the president will also succeed in his military mind games. However, it turned out to be a serious miscalculation and Dagalo betrayed the president and toppled him in 2019.
Sudan in crisis: MEMO talks to Ola Ibrahim
At this time, tens of thousands of ordinary Sudanese took to the streets, demanding to take back their country. The military was persuaded to go back to the barracks and stay there – and it worked, but only for a while.
Patience is not a hallmark of the military, but it wore off quickly, and soldiers staged a second coup in 2021, killing the fledgling people’s democracy. As the dust settled, Dagalo’s paramilitary militias and power were challenged by the national army led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan. We are told that Al-Burhan sparked today’s violence by attempting to defeat his opponents by absorbing his fighters into regular forces.
now we see fierce battle Families have been divided between warring military factions across Khartoum, and across the vast desert of Darfur, leading to wars between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary groups that will eventually turn them against each other.
Of course, another disturbing fact is that the West has been hovering over Sudan for decades. As one observer wryly put it: “Sudan has been in contention for years. “
Death toll rises as conflict in Sudan continues – cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]
As Sudanese took to the streets to overthrow President al-Bashir’s three-year dictatorship, many political meddlers from the West watched in horror. Africa’s democratic eruption does not sit well with Washington, London, Paris or Berlin, especially when the country is strategically close to the Nile and the Red Sea, rich in mineral resources and agricultural potential. Fresh off decades of sanctions and isolation, Sudan has attracted all the major powers from east to west.
Russia has ambitions to give its navy access to its warships in Sudan’s Red Sea ports, while the mercenary group Wagner provides tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as training, in exchange for lucrative gold mining concessions. The United Arab Emirates, which panics at the mention of democracy, paid Lieutenant General Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo to help it fight in Yemen, according to some officials. Egypt supported another general (Burhan) by sending soldiers and warplanes as a show of support.
No one misses an opportunity created by the suffering of others, and even the lone Israeli shark has been circling, hoping for official recognition in a country that is very close to Tel Aviv as an enemy.
“Everyone wants a big piece of Sudan, it cannot accept all the meddling,” said Magdi El-Gizouli, a Sudanese analyst at the research group Rift Valley Institute. “Too many competing interests and too many claims,” he told japan times“Then the fragile balance broke, as you can see now.”
Of course, all foreigners in Sudan right now are doing everything they can to flee. Another task for the international community will undoubtedly be to sit back and watch more violence happen.
read: The ‘I am Sudan’ motto and the elusive democratic transition
I worry that Sudan will become another site of proxy wars in the same way that Ukraine has become a battleground between Russia and the West. Dagalo, his closest Arab friend, was given the red carpet treatment by UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in February It was Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, who owns Manchester City football club and is linked to armed groups in Darfur in Dagalo’s backyard. Keep in touch for a long time.
No one seems to be as nosy as the Emiratis. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, is hedging his bets in 2020 with Sudanese tycoon Ossa who is close to the military. Together, Osama Daoud is investing $225 million in a 100,000-acre farmland of the nation’s best agricultural project.
Emirati diplomats were said to be in a state of panic and tried to stop the violence, but weapons were still flowing. According to the United States, Dagalo received weapons from Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, who also has arms and financial support from the UAE.
Pretending to support both sides as a surefire way to end up with the victor is a risky tactic, but while the UAE appears defenseless in a battle of wits, it has enough money to keep going wild.
In the meantime, does anyone care about the hundreds of dead and thousands of injured?
Once again, no leader in the world can bring the madness of the Sudanese war to an end.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Watch.
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