As fighting expanded throughout Sudan, scores of civilians have died and hundreds have been injured. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), several hospitals are running low on supplies they need to treat the injured.
On Saturday, fighting broke out between paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) troops under the command of Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a.k.a. Hemedti, the council’s deputy chairman, and army units loyal to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of Sudan’s transitional ruling Sovereign Council.
It was the first such outbreak of conflict since both sides banded together in 2019 to topple the longtime tyrant Omar al-Bashir. Conflict over the RSF’s inclusion in the military as part of a transition to civilian government to end the political-economic crisis started by a military coup in 2021 gave rise to the violence.
Below are some facts about the Sudan power tussle:
1. Sudan’s power tussle began in April 2019, when the military generals removed President Omar al-Bashir, who had presided over the country for nearly 30 years.
2. Sudan‘s main opposition coalition and the ruling military council then formally signed a power-sharing deal in August 2019, paving the way for a transition to a civilian-led government.
3. The arrangement was abruptly halted after a failed attempt in October 2021 to overthrow the country’s transitional government, blaming “military officers and civilians” from the former government of deposed President Omar Al-Bashir.
4. The failed coup put the Army back in charge but it faced renewed isolation, deepening economic woes and weekly protests by civilians demanding to gain oversight of the military and to see the integration of the powerful Rapid Support Force (RSF) into the regular Army.
5. The civilians are also calling for the handing over of lucrative military holdings in agriculture, trade and other industries, a crucial source of power for the army.
6. Another point of contention by the civilians is the pursuit of justice over allegations of war crimes by the military and its allies in the conflict in Darfur from 2003.
7. Justice is also being sought over the killings of at least 125 pro-democracy protesters on June 3, 2019, in which military forces were implicated.
