15 Apr 2023; MEMO: The heads of three Sudanese movements, the Sudan Liberation Movement, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, along with Commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemetti), on Friday discussed a solution to the current crisis in the country.
This came at a time when the Forces of Freedom and Change, Sudan's main pro-democracy coalition, accuses the "remnants" of Omar Al-Bashir's regime, overthrown in 2019, of fuelling discord between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces, undermining the transition to a civilian government.
The Sudanese political movements issued an official statement: "In continuation of our efforts to defuse the security crisis in the country, we met on Friday morning with Hemetti."
They added that after a "frank and serious" conversation, Hemetti confirmed his: "Complete commitment to non-escalation and his willingness to sit with the head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces at any time and without restriction or condition, to reach a radical solution to the crisis that stops the bloodshed and achieves security and calm."
On Thursday, the Sudanese army accused the Rapid Support Forces of mobilising, deploying and moving inside the capital, Khartoum, and several other cities "without the approval of the army command." The Rapid Support Forces denied carrying out any military actions in the city of Marawi, describing the news circulating in the local media about the matter as "misleading and false".
The Rapid Support Forces are a combat force led by Hemetti, established in 2013, to fight the rebels of the Darfur region and later to protect the borders and maintain order. It is affiliated with the Security and Intelligence Service and there is no official estimate of its size, but it is believed to be tens of thousands.
READ: Mediations underway to contain military tension in Sudan
On the other hand, the parties to the political process in Sudan announced on 5 April that the signing of the final agreement would be postponed "indefinitely" due to the continued talks between the military parties.
This is the second delay in signing the agreement, scheduled for 6 April, after it had been scheduled earlier in the same month. This is due to differences between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. On 8 January, a political process was launched between the signatories of the Framework Agreement on 5 December, 2022, namely the ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council and civil forces, most notably the Forces of Freedom and Change, to reach an agreement to solve the political crisis in the country.
This process aims to address the crisis witnessed since 25 October, 2021, when the army commander, Al-Burhan, imposed exceptional measures, including the dissolution of the transitional cabinet and the declaration of a state of emergency.
On Thursday, the army warned of a possible confrontation between its forces and the Rapid Support Forces, highlighting long-standing differences.
