Experts: Under pressure from the Islamists, Al Burhan evades ending the war in Sudan

Politicians, academics, and media professionals unanimously agreed that the accusations routinely leveled against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) by the Sudanese Army Commanders are no more than futile attempts to evade the horrific violations committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against civilians over the two years following the outbreak of the war in Sudan.

They pointed out to (Erem News) that the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan is facing significant and increasing pressure from remnants of the ousted Islamic regime to reject any efforts to stop the ongoing war in the country, despite its devastating impact on the humanitarian situation, according to international reports.

Strange Faces

Jatego Umwaja Dalman, a leader in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and member of the Sudan  Founding Alliance (Tasees), stated that the danger of the ongoing war lies in targeting civilians on ethnic, racial, and regional grounds.

Dalman, a prominent political and media leader in Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu’s Movement, added that the Sudanese Army issued the “Foreign Faces Law,” which allows Security Forces to arrest and deport anyone from the regions of Darfur, Kordofan, and the Nuba Mountains, under the pretext that these regions are social incubators for the Rapid Support Forces.

He pointed out that civilians are constantly subjected to the most horrific forms of abuse, including arbitrary arrests, brutal torture, field executions, and enforced mass displacement, by the Sudanese Army and its affiliated militias. He explained that “everything (Al-Burhan) says is merely a cover-up for these violations and crimes.”

Jatego stated that Al-Burhan’s recent statements are a prelude to the return of the Islamic Movement to power. Indeed, two Islamist cadres have been appointed the positions of Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister over the past two days. Despite Al-Burhan’s continued denials, he -himself- was a member of the Islamic Movement and, in the mid-1990s, served as Chairman of the National Congress Party (NCP) in the locality of Nertiti in Central Darfur state. According to him, the majority of the current Military leadership is made up of members of the Islamic Movement.

The leader in (SPLM-N) and member of (Tasees) went on to explain that the Sudanese Army is ideologically affiliated with the Islamic Movement, and that the Army’s combat doctrine has been the doctrine of extremist Islamic groups ever since. Therefore, the crimes committed by the Sudanese Army today are consistent with the nature of these groups. Human Rights Organizations have documented heinous crimes committed by the Sudanese Army, including slaughter, burning of bodies, rape, field executions, and extrajudicial killings during this war.

Escaping Forward

For his part, Sudanese journalist and political analyst Mohamed Al-Mukhtar Mohamed believed that Al-Burhan executed a coup, turning against the civilian transitional government, which was formed by consensus amongst the forces of the December Revolution. After the Islamists ignited the war, he fell completely under their control, leaving him no room for maneuver, both internally and externally. Therefore, he is “completely unreliable.”

Mohamed Al-Mukhtar attributed the fabrication of charges by external parties to an attempt by the Islamic Movement, which controls political and military decision-making, to evade the burden of ending the wars in Sudan.

The Sudanese journalist and political analyst believed that Al-Burhan seeks to evade the horrific crimes committed by the Sudanese Army and the Islamist brigades controlling it, especially the airstrikes targeting civilians, vital civilian areas, and markets in Darfur as well as across the country.

He went on to explain that Al-Burhan rejects calls by the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanding the extradition of former Military leaders, most notably of whom is the ousted President Omar Al-Bashir and Ahmed Haroun, along with the rest of those accused of genocide and war crimes in Darfur.

False Claims

For her part, a member of the leadership body of the United Civil Forces (UCF), and leader in the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees), considered Al-Burhan’s accusations against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Sudan, Kenya, and domestic political forces to be mere false allegations designed to divert attention from the successive defeats his forces have suffered at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces and to cover up the accumulated military and political failures.

She added that Al-Burhan is attempting to evade his direct responsibility for igniting the (April 15th) war, which erupted with his coup against the political process, his rejection of a civilian transition, and his attempt to lend legitimacy to the military in order to seize power.

She stated that Al-Burhan cannot be separated from the scheme to re-empower the former regime. His Army fights with the same ideology and affiliation, relying on the militias of the “dissolved” National Congress Party, which he has put forth diligent efforts to re-arm and mobilized under various names in a desperate attempt to turn back the clock.

She noted that Al-Burhan, through his rhetoric of treason and accusations, is attempting to confuse the regional and international landscape, mislead public opinion in an effort to cover up his regime’s growing isolation and loss of any political or moral legitimacy. Additionally, he is seeking to create an imaginary external enemy to mobilize support and obstruct any genuine political process that would end the war and fulfill the Sudanese people’s aspirations for freedom, peace, and democracy.