Sudan: Clashes Continue Despite Ceasefire

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Facts

  • On Tuesday, fighting between the Sudanese army and the country's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia continued hours after an internationally-brokered truce was due to take effect at 6 p.m. local time, with both sides accusing each other of violating it.1
  • Clashes initially broke out on Saturday — derailing a planned transition to a civilian democracy — with the UN estimating that at least 185 people have been killed in the four days.2
  • US Sec. of State Antony Blinken reportedly spoke with the head of the RSF, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, and the commander of the country's armed forces, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, on the phone to encourage the ceasefire after a short truce planned for Sunday was also broken.2
  • The phone call came after an American diplomatic convoy in Khartoum was fired upon on Monday by gunmen believed to be affiliated with the RSF. Nobody in the convoy was reported injured.3
  • Meanwhile, the RSF was declared a rebel group by the Sudanese Army on Monday and ordered to disband. Dagalo urged the international community to intervene against Burhan, referring to him as a "radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air."4
  • On the same day, Burhan, who along with Dagalo overthrew longtime Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and was central to the 2021 military coup, accused the RSF leader of an "attempted coup" and violating Sunday's humanitarian ceasefire.5

Sources: 1CTV News, 2Al Jazeera (a), 3Reuters, 4Al Jazeera (b), and 5CNN.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Dabanga Radio TV Online. Since Sudan's RSF is itself a product of the al-Bashir dictatorship, it is pure hypocrisy for Dagalo to present himself as a champion of democracy and to frame al-Burhan as a power-hungry radical Islamist. Yet, there is growing evidence that supporters of the ousted al-Bashir regime are responsible for the recent outbreak of violence to block Sudan's transition to democracy. As army chief, it's up to Burhan to prevent the loyalists from plunging Sudan into civil war.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Ahram Online. While the SAF under Burhan wants to quickly integrate the RSF into the armed forces, the RSF demands civilian rule and the removal of Muslim Brotherhood elements in the military as a precondition for reforming the military apparatus. However, given the escalating fighting, the RSF must live up to its responsibility and return to the negotiating table to pave the way for a peaceful democratic transition in Sudan, and advance security and military reforms.