Sudan democracy: Sudan’s political transition to civilian rule is fraught with hurdles and recent developments have made the already volatile situation even worse.
Sudan’s road to democracy has become thornier as the worst nightmares have come true that now threatens to throw Sudan into a fresh episode of political instability and insecurity.
Signs were already ominous for Sudan, as it was only a few days back that the Sudan’s military had warned of potential clashes with the country’s powerful paramilitary force, RSF, which it said deployed troops in the capital and other cities, as per a report.
In a statement, the military said the build-up of the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country had come without “approval or coordination” with the Armed Forces’ leadership.
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The military further said that the RSF measures “have stirred up panic and fear among people, exacerbated security risks and increased tensions between regular forces” and that the military has attempted to “find peaceful solutions to such violations” to prevent “an armed conflict” with the RSF.
The military’s statement had come as the RSF led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, reportedly deployed troops in the northern province on the border with Egypt. Local media had reported that the paramilitary force had attempted to build a military base there.
Tensions were already rising ever since Hemedti, pulled away from military colleagues and found common ground with a civilian political alliance, a move that could establish him as a major figure even after the democratic transition. Moreover, Hemedti has also been reluctant to set a clear deadline to integrate the RSF into the army.
Now the tensions between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary forces have exploded, as Sudan’s military and the RSF have engaged in fierce clashes in the capital and elsewhere in the country. The clashes capped months of heightened tensions between the armed forces and the RSF that stemmed from disagreements over how the RSF should be integrated into the army. Now a wider conflict is being feared that can potentially throw the country into further chaos and instability.
The rival Generals, Hemedti and ruling council leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s duel for power have now broken into open battles that makes the country’s path to democratic transition thornier than ever.
