December 27
RSF MASSACRE IN AL JAZIRA THREATENS REGIONAL STABILIZATION. The precise reasons for the flare up of violence…seems driven by retribution and revenge. Days after the defection of an ex-RSF leader, 370 villagers mainly from Shukria Tribe…were massacred. The horrific events followed jubilant scenes when RSF leader Abuagla Keikal, commander of Al-Jazira State, surrendered with his forces and joined the ranks of the army. However, the unprecedented upsurge in violence does not seem to have any military benefit rather appears to be acts of terror and retribution. The reports of killings were based on tribal identity, using civilians as hostages, kidnapping and raping women and girls, forced displacement, looting of property and starvation by burning corn crops in the fields. Commentator Mansour Al Hadi: “This is a message to anyone who might think of breaking away from the Al-Dagalo clan [RSF]. It is also an attempt to overshadow the recent victories of the army in Sennar and Khartoum by shifting the public’s attention and framing the military as unable to protect civilians, thus undermining morale and Keikal’s surrender.”
As expected, the events prompted severe criticism of the government with calls for the people of Al-Jazira to be armed. “The Min of Foreign Affairs must wake up from its deep sleep and assume its professional and national responsibilities in issuing a daily statement on crimes of the Rapid Support Militia in Al-Jazira and Darfur.” UN Secy Guterres urged an immediate cessation of hostilities. He stressed the need to intensify diplomatic efforts, as well as put in place the Jeddah Declaration of 2023, emphasising the need for protection of civilians. “Those responsible for war crimes must be held accountable….direct or indirect flow” of arms and ammunition into Sudan “must cease immediately.” The secy gen fell short of ordering deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to protect civilians. The Secretariat stands ready to engage with the Security Council and others that can reduce the violence and protect civilians.
Despite substantial military gains of the army since late Sept, experts…are not convinced a complete defeat of RSF is possible. They argue only a political solution can bring a long lasting end to the fighting. The government may also be of the view that negotiations are inevitable but to dismantle the RSF remains the end goal. Members of the government are concerned the longer the war continues, the more likely the international community will feel compelled to intervene. UK’s Shadow Foreign Secy Mitchel is amongst those pushing for the international community to take ‘decisive’ action: “Our ministers…support the call for deployment of an independent and impartial force with a mandate to protect civilians in Sudan.” The latest troubling events in Sudan may push those in the region to come to Sudan’s aid to ensure its interests and those of its allies are not compromised. Middle East Monitor
SUDANESE FILM WINS GOLDEN TANIT SHORT AWARD AT CARTHAGE FILM FESTIVAL. Sudanese film “Nothing Happens After That”won the Golden Tanit Short Award at Carthage Film Festival, Tunisia, while the film “In the Waiting Room” won the Audience Award. Dir of “Nothing Happens After That,”Ibrahim Omer, said…“I want to see peace and stability established in my beloved country, Sudan, where war has been going on for almost 2 years now, causing massive destruction and loss of life.” He concluded by wishing freedom for Palestine and saluting the struggle of all free peoples. The film tells the story of Thomas who was searching for a final resting place for his only child but ultimately discovered that wasn’t the right day. The film previously won the Min of Culture & Science’s jury award at Oberhausen Intl Short Film Festival, Germany. Starring Ibrahim Omar, Aamir Ahmed, Khalid Muait and Ahmed Bushari, “Nothing Happens After That” was produced by the Sudan Inst for Films, written and directed by Ibrahim Omar and picture shooting by Tariq Abdalla. Al Taghyeer
December 26
SUDAN’S WAR CAME TO REPRESENT THE WORST OF HUMANITY. 20 months of armed conflict…have killed at least 20,000 people and left 25 million – half the population – suffering from severe hunger and in urgent need of humanitarian aid. As is often the case, children are bearing the brunt of this brutal war. According to Doctors Without Borders, 1 in 6 of those treated at Bashair Teaching Hosp in S Khartoum for war-related injuries such as gunshot, shrapnel and blast wounds Jan-Sept 2024 were aged 15 or below. The medical team recently treated an 18-month-old baby, Riyad, hit by a stray bullet while napping in his family’s home. They managed to stabilise him but were unable to remove the bullet from his chest. Amid ongoing conflict and limited access to medical care, the future of Riyad, like thousands of other war-wounded, traumatised and orphaned children, remains uncertain.
Sexual violence is rife….Forces commanded by both the and SAF have committed rape and other acts of sexual and gender-based violence….The report accused both sides of using rape as a weapon of war but said the RSF was behind the “large majority” of documented cases and responsible for “sexual violence on a large scale” including “gang rapes and abducting and detaining victims in conditions that amount to sexual slavery”. Amid ongoing conflict, survivors of rape and other sexual violence struggle to access medical treatment, essential medication and psychological support services. Many are left wounded, traumatised and homeless. With war crimes and other atrocities committed against men, women and even children on a daily basis with impunity, Sudan’s conflict has come to represent the worst of humanity. As people prepare to begin another year hungry, wounded and scared, the international community, especially African organisations allegedly committed to ensuring peace and stability in the region, have a responsibility to take meaningful action including direct intervention.
So far, efforts to put an end to the suffering by mediating between the warring parties have all been fruitless. Peace initiatives led by the AU, IGAD, US, Egypt and Switzerland failed to secure a sustainable ceasefire, comprehensive peace agreement or meaningful protections for the civilian population. In May 2023, the warring sides…signed the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, agreeing to “distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and civilian objects and military targets”….they pledged to “refrain from any attack…expected to cause incidental civilian harm” and “protect all public and private facilities, such as hospitals and water and electricity installations”. The agreement was supposed to result in a weeklong ceasefire, but in the end could not stop atrocities against civilians, let alone the relentless fighting between SAF and RSF, even for 48 hours. …no peace initiative has come anywhere near putting an end to the carnage. In Aug talks convened by the US to end the war achieved some progress on aid access, but failed to secure a ceasefire. Efforts to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table and appeals to their humanity to demand an end to the attacks on civilians are clearly not working.
More needs to be done. In its harrowing report, based on testimonies from the ground, the UN fact-finding mission made clear what the country needs: An international peacekeeping force to be deployed to protect civilians. “Given the failure of the warring parties to spare civilians, it is imperative that an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay,” the mission’s lead Chande Othman, said in Sept. Regrettably, the Sudanese government rejected the call, just as it rejected IGAD’s call for deployment of a regional peacekeeping force in 2023. The military government in Khartoum…frames any potential external intervention, including peacekeeping missions focused on protection of the civilian population, as a violation of the country’s sovereignty. If the Sudanese government was able to provide protection to civilians, its rejection of outside intervention would be understandable. But it is obvious…no party in this war is capable of or sufficiently concerned about, providing safety, security and dignity to Sudan’s beleaguered civilian population.
Without deployment of a regional peacekeeping mission backed by the international community tasked with putting an immediate end to the relentless attacks on civilians – the suffering will not come to an end in the foreseeable future. Today, the global community, especially the AU, faces a simple choice: Remain passive while the death toll continues to rise, or take meaningful and decisive measures even if it upsets the Sudanese government to address the crisis. The regional body would lose any legitimacy if it chooses to watch idly as innocent lives are lost in a war without end….it is time for the AU to intervene in order to protect civilians. This would not infringe the sovereignty of the Sudanese state or constitute an overreach on the part of the Union. According to…the Constitutive Act, which Sudan assented to in 2000, AU has the right to “intervene in a Member State…in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity”. Given the overwhelming number of breaches of international humanitarian law and human rights law documented in detail…the state of affairs is undoubtedly “grave”.
There is no doubt citizens would derive significant benefits from physical protection by international peacekeeping forces. Although the extensive territory and widespread nature of warfare would present significant challenges ensuring the safety of millions, this task is not beyond reach. Sudan stands as a clear test of AU’s capability to implement and uphold its wide-ranging mandate. If it is to realise its vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena” it cannot afford to continue to fail the Sudanese people. Al Jazeera
BAHRI CITY FIGHTING RESULTED IN BURNING OF ENTIRE FAMILIES IN AL MAZAD. Al-Mazad neighborhood has been subjected to continued shelling causing burning of homes, leaving entire families in forms of charred unidentifiable corpses. Eyewitnesses revealed fresh details about the massacre that occurred Wed…resulting in the death of dozens of civilians following intensive missile strikes obliterating numerous houses. …al-Mazad was the scene of repeated missile shelling that caused burning of many houses, and the death of entire families, some turned into stiffened charred bodies. About 2 months now, fighting intensified in Bahri following the Sudanese army crossing Halfaya Bridge and attempts to fully control the whole city, previously under the grip of the paramilitary RSF. A woman from al-Mazad told Altaghyeer entire blocks…were burned down, with nobody surviving “we could not distinguish from the burned corpses a baby from that of an adult, or men from women.” She confirmed “all people living between al-Jalabi Center and the bus terminus in al-Safiya perished.” Bahri’s Emergency Rooms said civilians have become victims of violent confrontations between the warring parties. The majority of the city’s residents are still in their neighborhoods and exposed to death similar to developments in Al-Mazad they warned. Al Taghyeer
FLOODS AND CHOLERA DEVASTATE WHITE NILE COMMUNITIES. The humanitarian situation in White Nile State has rapidly deteriorated over the past week as floods and a cholera outbreak continue to wreak havoc. Thousands are displaced, homes have been destroyed, and the crisis is compounded by ongoing conflict around the Jebel Aulia reservoir. Floodwaters from the White Nile swept through large parts of the state, submerging roads and isolating entire communities. In El Gezira Aba, residents have been building makeshift
The annual rainy season often leads to flooding, creating conditions that facilitate the spread of waterborne diseases.
dykes to protect their homes….15,000 houses across the region been completely destroyed, while 16,600 families have been affected by the disaster. The water rushed violently into neighbourhoods, destroying homes and displacing thousands,” volunteer Abdallah Ishaq told Radio Dabanga. “The situation is catastrophic, and urgent action is needed to provide shelter, clean water and temporary toilets for the displaced.” 8,000 people are stranded in temporary camps or waiting for evacuation, with rescue operations relying on boats to reach those trapped. The flooding has led to a surge in cholera cases in El Gezira Aba. Local health authorities report 166 cases, including 4 deaths. El Gezira Aba Hosp is struggling to cope, operating with only 1 doctor, no drinking water and severe shortage of medical supplies: “We are overwhelmed. Patients are dying because we lack the resources to treat them properly. Urgent medical support is needed.”
The closure of gates at the Jebel Aulia reservoir, which controlswater flow along the White Nile, has been identified as a major factor in the flooding. Fighting between the SAF and RSF has made it impossible for technical teams to access the dam for maintenance and repairs. The Communist Party of Sudan stated “What is happening in the White Nile and Jebel Aulia reservoir amounts to war crimes,” explaining that RSF sees the reservoir as a crossing to White Nile’s West Bank, while SAF bombs the Jebel Aulia Bridge as a military target. Emergency Lawyers Group recommended “the armed forces and rapid support form a joint committee to manage and operate the Jebel Aulia reservoir.” The group called on the international community to impose sanctions or diplomatic pressure if the warring parties continue targeting vital facilities. It called for immediate international assistance to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure and support those affected. Dabanga
THOUSANDS FLEE SUDAN CONFLICT, OVERWHELMING BORDER IN SO SUDAN. Violence has driven 80,000 people into So Sudan in less than 3weeks, according to UNHCR. …mainly women and children, are fleeing escalating fighting in Sudan’s White Nile, Sennar and Blue Nile states. Nyarob: “When the army entered, there were gunshots, and a lot of chaos occurred. I immediately took my children and walked to the Joda border with others because we needed a safe place for our children. At the border and nearby villages, resources are overwhelmed. Makeshift shelters house the displaced, and malnutrition rates exceed emergency thresholds. Clean water and sanitation facilities are critically lacking, raising the risk of disease outbreaks. Silva Alkebeh, UNHCR: “This place 2 weeks ago was almost empty. We built the reception center to accommodate a few hundred people. Currently, we have 5,000 refugees and returnees staying at the border and many along the roadside. People are sharing very limited resources.” Despite efforts to scale up assistance, the response remains severely underfunded. UNHCR warns that without additional resources, life-saving aid and support for the displaced and host communities will remain inadequate. AfricaNews
December 21
RSF WILL WORK WITH A PLANNED NEW GOVERNMENT TO OVERSEE TERRITORIES THEY CONTROL, THE STARKEST MOVE MADE TOWARDS PARTITION. RSF…now controls swathes of central and west Sudan, including most ofKhartoum and Darfur, its traditional base. Any new administration would challenge internationally recognised and army-led national government.…A group of civilian politicians and armed group leaders agreed to set up…a “peace government.” They said it would be civilian-led, independent of RSF and set up to replace the government in Pt Sudan….3 senior political sources told Reuters the RSF worked with politicians to form the government. “We in the RSF will only carry out the military and security role, but governing will be undertaken by civilian forces independently.” There were no details on when such administration might start and how it would choose representatives, govern or raise funds. (A) Western diplomat told Reuters “The biggest weakness of the RSF is no functioning chain of command. All the atrocities we see, how do we see that in a government?” US and rights groups said both sides committed atrocities….
US Special Envoy Perriello said any such new administration would be a step backward:”There are different things it could be, all of them bad, from government-in-exile to ‘we are the government….'” Members who said they were forming a new government include officials who were part of the civilian-military power-sharing government that ruled 2 years after the ouster of al-Bashirin 2019. While many participants do not have their own substantial constituencies or major active forces on the ground,…they would gain a measure of authority in a body backed by the RSF. Figures who confirmed participation included former Sovereign Council members Mohamed al-Taishi, Alhadi Idris and al-Tahir Hajar…Ibrahim al-Mirghani and Suleiman Sandal….”The group in Pt Sudan does not aim to have peace and refuses all initiatives to end the war,” Taishi said. “The Pt Sudan authority is using its assumed authority…to divide the country through illegal unilateral moves,” said Idris, citing recent moves to bring in new banknotes and launch school exams in army-held territory. “Each belligerent has…tools they’re employing without restraint, sticking to their maximalist territorial claims,” Jalel Harchaoui, Royal United Svcs Inst. “This stubbornness, combined with unbridled foreign interference, may result in partition.” Reuters/The New Arab
December 20
700 KILLED IN EL FASHER, N DARFUR SINCE MAY. The siege and “relentless fighting are devastating lives every day on a massive scale”, UN High Comm for Human Rights: “This alarming situation cannot continue. RSF must end this horrible siege.” The office documented deaths of 782 civilians and 1,143 injured, based partly on interviews of those who fled. The casualties came amid regular and intensive shelling by RSF of densely populated residential areas. El-Fasher is one of the most active front lines between the RSF and the army and its allies, fighting to maintain a last foothold in Darfur. Observers fear an RSF victory could bring ethnic retribution, as in W Darfur last year. The city faced intense attacks over the past week. Paramilitary shelling on the main hospital killed 9 people…. more RSF attacks on the hospital and parts of the city left 10 civilians dead and 20 wounded. A paramilitary drone attack killed 38 in city centre. Nearby Zamzam Camp, where famine is occurring among a population of ½ million people, has come under RSF artillery fire over 2 weeks, forcing thousands to leave the camp. Turk warned that any large-scale attack on Zamzam or el-Fasher would “catapult civilian suffering to catastrophic levels. All efforts must be taken, including by the international community, to prevent such an attack and halt the siege.” Fighting continued to rage in other parts of the country. Secy-Gen Guterres condemned the killing of 3 WFP staff members. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson, said the field office in Yabus, Blue Nile State, was hit by aerial bombardment. The incident “underscores the devastating toll Sudan’s brutal conflict is having on millions of people in need and humanitarians trying to reach them with life-saving assistance”. 2024 is the “deadliest year on record” for aid workers in Sudan. Al Jazeera
US PLEDGES $200M ADDITIONAL HUMANITARIAN AID….Under-Secy-Gen for Humanitarian Affairs Fletcher. Fletcher described catastrophic conditions exacerbated by shelling and fighting, especially in Darfur, and how ongoing violence displaced millions and left the population in desperate need of aid….the State Dept will work with Congress to provide $30M to support civil society. Ned Price, Dep Rep to UN, told reporters the meeting aims to keep the crisis in the international spotlight….US “will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure humanitarian access, deliver aid and push toward cessation of hostilities.” Special Envoy Perriello met with Envoy Lamamra …to discuss the UN’s role in resolving the crisis. Sen Cardin, Sen Foreign Relations Comm, sent a letter to Blinken calling for decisive measures….criticised the lack of progress in reaching a long-lasting ceasefire and called for comprehensive arms embargo. He noted ongoing reports of weapons flowing toRSF, which violate the existing embargo in Darfur, ensuring civilian protection, expanding humanitarian access and building regional consensus to address the conflict. He condemned violations of international humanitarian law including starvation and sexual violence as weapons of war. While the Biden administration has “limited time to execute a strategy”, its remaining weeks provide a critical opportunity to lead international efforts to alleviate the suffering. Dabanga
December 14
2/3 OF DISPLACED FAMILIES IN EAST SUDAN SHORT OF FOOD. Norwegian Refugee Council reported displaced families in eastern Sudan cannot access enough food, as the war has pushed millions toward famine. The number of displaced people in eastern Sudan has significantly increased, especially since mid-year, when paramilitary RSF escalated their attacks in al-Jazira amid the conflict. Gedaref State alone now hosts 1 million displaced individuals. The war has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced 11 million people within Sudan and in neighboring countries, according to UN figures. UN experts accused the factions of using “starvation tactics” against 25 million civilians. NRC warned that needs of both displaced people and host communities in the region far exceed the current humanitarian response capacity, which cannot meet the demand without urgent intervention.
A survey of 8,600 households across 6 eastern Sudan states found 70% of internally displaced families and 56% of host families unable to afford food, mainly due to skyrocketing prices and loss of income. 92% of host families and 7 6% of internally displaced people have not received any food assistance in 6 months. According to NRC Sudan Country Dir Will Carter, towns and cities in eastern Sudan were already vulnerable, and the conflict pushed them to the brink, with displaced and host communities “on the verge of collapse.” Healthcare services are severely overstretched. NRC is calling for immediate global action to increase humanitarian aid, restore critical infrastructure, and invest in livelihoods to prevent further destabilization. Carter stressed, “The world must stand with all people affected by this terrible war.” Al Mayadeen
December 9
AS RESCUE WORKERS RACE TO FREE REMAINING PRISONERS FROM SYRIA’S NOTORIOUS SEDNAYA PRISON, a Sudanese man believes his father and brother-in-law, forcibly disappeared years ago by al-Assad’s administration, may be among the detainees. Ahmed Abdelrazzaq does not know if the men…are still alive. His story adds another nationality alongside Syrians, Palestinians and Lebanese to thousands…once penned in at Sednaya, so horrific Amnesty Intl dubbed it the “Human Slaughterhouse”. Abdelrazzaq, 35, was born in Yarmouk refugee camp south of Damascus to Sudanese refugees who sought safety in Syria. He now lives in Lebanon, after fleeing the Syrian war a decade ago. Syrian authorities arrested Abdelrazzaq with his 61-year-old father, Al-Tijjani. He remembers the time well: “It was the first day of Eid al-Adha”. …authorities took them to…the Palestine Branch, a feared prison run by Syria’s MI. Palestine Branch was known for severe torture, including penetration of prisoner’s body orifices with broken glass bottles. Authorities arrested the father and son on “accusations of funding terrorism. We stayed there for maybe 53 days – after that, we don’t know anything” about what happened to Al-Tijjani. Ahmed was taken “from branch to branch”. At one point, the family heard Al-Tijjani had been transferred to Adra prison near Damascus and then to Sednaya. Ahmed’s brother-in-law, Yassin Mahmoud al-Obeid, was also kidnapped by Syrian authorities. “Last we heard about him, he was in Sednaya.”
It is a fate especially terrifying for Ahmed, who…was badly tortured: “This is something that hurts my heart deeply, memories of a time I wished each day that I could die. I said: ‘Please Lord, please Lord, please Lord, give me death.’ It wasn’t just physical abuse, but psychological, too. Things that shouldn’t happen to human beings.” Ahmed said being Sudanese had no bearing on how prison guards treated him. “On the inside, it doesn’t matter where you came from. In the end, I could barely walk.”
It is unclear how many other Sudanese may have been arbitrarily imprisoned under Bashar and his father Hafez, Wadih al-Asmar, Lebanese Center for Human Rights. Asmar’s group has for decades worked to document forcibly disappeared Lebanese citizens, compiling a list of 623 whose families believe their loved ones vanished into Assad’s prisons. “But until now I haven’t heard about any Sudanese”. Ahmed has so far had little luck in finding any news of his father and brother-in-law. Though he has family members seeking out information, here in Lebanon he is struggling simply to get through each day. Israel’s military escalation on Lebanon…forced him, his pregnant wife and 4 children to flee their home along the southern border. Though they found shelter at the Sudanese Club in Beirut, they are now being kicked out: “We found a home to stay in, but we have no money. We’re going to be living on the street.” Middle East Eye
December 3
THE CATASTROPHE…HAS ENGENDERED A POLITICAL AWAKENING AMONG BROAD SEGMENTS OF THE SUDANESE PUBLIC WHO PREVIOUSLY SHOWED LITTLE INTEREST IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS….People have become fully aware that how this war will end doesn’t depend on local actors but an array of international powers who have their own geopolitical designs….They realised when Hemedti initiated the conflict by his attack on army positions on 15 April 2023, it was far from a…response to plans to oust him. It’s now clear this move was carefully planned and closely followed by outside parties who viewed his leadership, alongside a cohort of “acceptable” politicians, as more aligned with their interests.
Despite the immense suffering and urgent desire of the vast majority of the population to return to normal life, the humanitarian pretensions of the British draft resolution at the UN Sec Council which called for an immediate end to “hostile actions” and “protection of civilians” didn’t…fool the Sudanese people. For Western-aligned elite who tried to promote the UK resolution, attempting to convince the public the catastrophe will only end through international intervention, the failure of the British resolution was frustrating; more so due to the positive response of many Sudanese to Russia’s veto. The general public, whom Westernised elite view as ignorant or immature masses with no idea what’s in their own interests, have shown great insight in rejecting a gamble on the Western vision.
One need not be an expert in international relations…to understand when particular enthusiasm is shown by core states, this never springs merely from sympathy. Britain, working so eagerly to advance a plan for ending the war, is not a mere observer or neutral concerned bystander. UK has been an active player in Sudanese politics since Bashir was toppled. It’s impossible to forget the pivotal role played by Britain’s Ambassador during the first phase of the transitional period, when “Forces of Freedom & Change” took control of the government. It’s hard to believe this active player, and all the support and planning assistance it provided to specific political groups…,doesn’t have an agenda.
Britain’s proposal for international intervention to protect and assist Sudanese people didn’t emerge after the war erupted but pre-dates it. It came about as soon as Hamdok’s government was formed. The British placed its bets on his government, viewing Hamdok as a friendly figure in a country full of people who view the West with scepticism. It seems…expected his government would request international intervention to implement political, technical, legal and security….They obligingly did so through a letter to the UN…only withdrawn after its leaked contents shocked and angered the public because they saw it as tantamount to an invitation for Sudan’s re-occupation.
Britain, ex-coloniser and original foreign player in Sudanese politics, shares a hostile view towards Sudan’s military establishment. Britain and its Sudanese allies…view the army as responsible for thwarting their political project, which raises questions about…complicity with RSF. While Britain and allies appear comfortable with the army’s sidelining and exhaustion, …they seem to believe their political aspirations may be achieved if Hemedti wins. …the problem here is Israel, whose actions left no doubt that concern and goodwill will ever be decisive factors in calls for “international justice” by centres of power. …those countries doggedly targeting the Sudanese army, attempting to stigmatise and equate it with the RSF using the pretext of “concern for civilian casualties” during the bombardment, …are countries which repeat that the Israeli army has the right to use any level of force….It is this screaming double standard, no longer concealed or denied, that has caused scepticism towards the legitimacy of international institutions to explode (even in Western states), led to a deeply negative perception…towards any initiative backed by those countries.
Sudan is all too familiar with UN forces in its territory. During past periods of pressure and under various pretexts, among which was the spread of armed violence in Darfur, deployment of an international UN force was accepted to help stop violations and protect civilians. UNAMID didn’t succeed in quelling the violence, nor even protecting themselves. Any solution…which aims to bring an end to the war is unacceptable if it equivalises between the army and Janjaweed gangs. It is unacceptable to seek forcing political leadership to re-absorb these elements given they have openly displayed their abject criminality to monitoring bodies, as well as to local and international organisations. Anyone honest about their desire…to protect civilians must start by blocking sources of funding to the RSF and punishing those involved in providing resources, including weapons. The New Arab