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Rabat – Ongoing fighting in Khartoum after a failed cease-fire have prompted several nations to decide to evacuate their citizens and diplomatic staff from Sudan. The ongoing clashes in Sudan’s capital between two rival factions of the military continue despite earlier hopes that a cease-fire around the Islamic holiday of Eid al Fitr could bring temporary peace.
Those hopes evaporate in the past days as fighting between Sudan’s large paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the national military continues. The current clashes have been described as a “battle of the egos” as disagreements between two rival generals have marred Sudan’s conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan.
The continued clashes have prompted several countries, including France, the US and UK and China, to announce they would airlift their citizens from Sudan’s troubled capital. The Sudanese army, which is engaged in the conflict with RSF troops, has said it would facilitate the evacuation, yet the chaotic situation in Khartoum has provided little confidence the military’s guarantees can provide sufficient security.
This week’s sudden reemergence of violence in Khartoum is due to a looming deadline to integrate Sudan’s vast paramilitary forces into the national military as part of an envisioned process of democratization after the country’s 2018-2019 revolution that toppled long-term President Omar al-Bashir after thirty years of autocratic rule.
As part of the path towards a new political status quo, the country’s RSF militias were intended to merge with the military to create one single military force. Those efforts have failed as the leadership of both the RSF and national military have undermined the process, resulting in a new dark turn in Sudan’s tumultuous recent history.
