Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stated on Monday that the army is prepared to “receive and equip” voluntary fighters. In a Facebook post, the army instructed civilian fighters to report to their nearest command or military unit.
The potential enlistment of civilians, which could exacerbate the already deadly violence, has been a subject of discussion for several weeks. During a speech on June 27, Al-Burhan expressed that “all young and capable men should enlist.” It remains uncertain whether his latest call to arms constitutes forced conscription.
Amid renewed artillery fire in Khartoum over the weekend, the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (or Hemedti), has entered its twelfth week. Since its commencement on April 15, the war has resulted in nearly 3,000 fatalities and displaced 2.8 million refugees.
In Sudan’s western region of Darfur, the violence has taken on “ethnic dimensions,” as stated by the United Nations. Armed civilians have already engaged in combat in Darfur, with Minni Minnawi, the region’s governor and a former rebel leader now aligned with the army, urging civilians to take up arms in May.
The United Nations believes that the acts of violence in Darfur, primarily committed by the RSF and Arab militia targeting non-Arab civilians, could amount to “crimes against humanity.” The RSF, whose troops mostly originate from western Sudan, have been accused of numerous cases of sexual assault and the forced displacement of individuals from their homes.
In response to a surge of videos on social media depicting paramilitary soldiers forcing civilians out of their vehicles, the RSF announced on Sunday their intent to punish “looting, vandalism, and, above all, the theft of civilians’ cars.”
Humanitarian organisations express significant concern for the welfare of children, with over 13.6 million children in need of humanitarian aid and 300,000 at risk of starvation, according to UNICEF.