Sudan's TMC Hemeti and AFC al-Rabie sign deal

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Sudan's big deal was signed today amidst banners saying "Sudan's joy". I fear for what lays ahead. The old regime has not vanished and Hemeti, a psychopathic camel herding upstart mercenary from Chad, who has four wives and hates politics, doesn't fit in with Khartoum's elite and its social scene.

Sixteen years ago I started this blog Sudan Watch during which time I lost count of the number of agreements signed in Sudan. They all ended up being worth less than the paper they were written on. 

The ink wouldn't be dry before fights started between rebels and government troops. Rebels would then fall out with each other and split into different groups with new names. How else could they make a living?

In the early years I lost count of the number of rebel groups after noting 48. In my view, today's deal is no different from all the others. The youngsters protesting in Khartoum were babies when this blog started.  Sad to say they'll be disillusioned, soon. 

South Sudan is, I believe, a failed state and Sudan is on the brink of becoming one. I wonder whether Sudan and South Sudan are governable. They're so diverse and backward in many ways. They need water.

Sudanese civilians living far from Khartoum are still suffering being attacked and killed. Recent floods caused unhealthy conditions. People are in need of mosquito nets and medicines especially for malaria.

Meanwhile, South Sudan government officials are proposing a house be built for ex-rebel President Kiir in his home town and a private jet be bought for him. He spends tons on constant unnecessary travels. Puke.

Article by AFP.com from Businesslive.co.za

Dated 17 August 2019 - 15:53 AFP.COM

Sudan generals, protest leaders sign transition deal

Heads of state from several countries attended the ceremony in Khartoum

Sudan's protest leader Ahmad Rabie (R), flashes the victory gesture alongside General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (2nd-R), the chief of Sudan's ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC), during a ceremony where they signed a "constitutional declaration" that paves the way for a transition to civilian rule, in the capital Khartoum on August 17, 2019. Picture: EBRAHIM HAMID / AFP

Khartoum - Sudan's military council and protest leaders on Saturday signed a hard-won "constitutional declaration" that paves the way for a transition to civilian rule.

The agreement was signed by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, deputy chief of the military council, and Ahmed al-Rabie, representing the Alliance for Freedom and Change protest umbrella, an AFP reporter said.

Heads of state, prime ministers and dignitaries from several countries -- including Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egypt's premier Mustafa Madbuli -- attended the ceremony in Khartoum, and the signing was met with applause.

The constitutional declaration builds on a political declaration that was agreed by the military and protesters on July 17.

It formalises the creation of a transition administration that will be guided by an 11-member sovereign council, comprised of six civilians and five military figures.

The agreement follows nearly eight months of protests -- initially against longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who fell in April, and then against the military council that deposed him.

Talks between the protesters and the military were mediated by the African Union and Ethiopia, which brought the two sides together again even after a protest sit-in outside military headquarters was brutally dispersed by men in military fatigues on June 3.

Some 120 people were killed during that crackdown, according to doctors linked to the protesters.

The signing ceremony started with Sudan's national anthem, followed by a reading of verses from the Koran and the Old Testament, while the words "Sudan's joy" were emblazoned on banners. AFP

SOURCE: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2019-08-17-sudan-generals-protest-leaders-sign-transition-deal/

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Hemeti BBC interview broadcast ahead of signing ceremony

A BBC News online report dated Saturday 17 August 2019 states that the above mentioned deal was signed by Hemeti and Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan for the military council, and Ahmed al-Rabie for the Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group of pro-democracy protesters.

“We will stick to every single letter we have agreed on," Hemeti told the BBC's Zeinab Badawi in an interview (see below) broadcast ahead of the ceremony.

"Even without the agreement we [would] have to work in this direction because it's in the country's interest," he added. 

"Therefore we have to carry out the agreement, stick to it and support it."

[Sudan Watch Ed:  Puke]

To visit the report and video interview click here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-49379489

TMC, FFC initial amended constitutional declaration in Khartoum Sudan on Sunday 04 August 2019

Article from Gulf News

Written by Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Dated Sunday, 04 August 2019 15:28

Sudan generals, protest camp sign accord on road to civilian rule

A formal signing in front of foreign dignitaries is due to take place on August 17

General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (R), Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, and Protest leader Ahmed Rabie shake hands after signing the constitutional declaration at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019 AFP

Khartoum: Sudan’s army rulers and protest leaders Sunday signed a hard-won constitutional declaration that paves the way for a promised transition to civilian rule following more than seven months of often deadly street rallies.

The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Khartoum, builds on a landmark July 17 power-sharing deal and provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for a three-year transition period.

Protest movement leader Ahmed Rabie and the deputy head of the ruling military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, signed the declaration at the ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators.

“We turned a tough page of Sudan’s history by signing this agreement,” Daglo, who flashed a victory sign after making a short speech, told reporters.

Both sides flashed victory signs.

Image Credit: AFP

The signing was met by a wave of applause in the hall as representatives from both sides shook hands.

Overnight, thousands of jubilant Sudanese already took to the streets of the capital to celebrate when the deal was announced before dawn.

A formal signing in front of foreign dignitaries is due to take place on August 17 - the date on which ousted president Omar al-Bashir is due to go on trial on corruption charges - another protest leader, Monzer Abu al-Maali, told AFP.

The next day, the generals and protest leaders are expected to announce the composition of the new transitional civilian-majority ruling council, he said.

“Members of the ruling sovereign council will be announced on August 18, the prime minister will be named on August 20 and cabinet members on August 28,” Abu al-Maali told AFP.

Sunday’s accord was the result of difficult negotiations between the leaders of mass protests which erupted last December against Bashir’s three-decade rule and the generals who eventually ousted him in April.

Demonstrators hail ‘victory’

The talks had been repeatedly interrupted by deadly violence against demonstrators who have kept up rallies to press for civilian rule.

They were suspended for weeks after men in military uniform broke up a long-running protest camp outside army headquarters in Khartoum on June 3, killing at least 127 people according to doctors close to the protest movement.

They were briefly suspended again earlier this week when paramilitaries shot dead six demonstrators in the city of Al-Obeid, four of them schoolchildren.

On Saturday, the Arab League welcomed the agreement saying the signing of the constitutional declaration “would launch a new and important phase in line with the Sudanese people’s aspirations”.

General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (R), Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, and Protest leader Ahmed Rabie sign the constitutional declaration at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019. Sudan's army rulers and protest leaders today inked a hard-won constitutional declaration, paving the way for a promised transition to civilian rule. The agreement, signed during a ceremony witnessed by AFP, builds on a landmark power-sharing deal signed on July 17 and provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for a three-year transition period. / AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY Image Credit: AFP

Sudan’s army ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan lauded the “long-awaited deal” in an interview on Saudi broadcaster Al-Hadath.

Demonstrators among the crowds that took to the streets in the early hours hailed victory in their struggle for a new Sudan.

“For us, the revolution succeeded now and our country set foot on the road towards civilian rule,” said 25-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim as he joined the cavalcade of vehicles that criss-crossed the streets of Khartoum, horns blazing.

Fellow protester Somaiya Sadeq said she hoped there would now be justice for those who had given their lives.

“We have been waiting for a civilian state to seek fair retribution from the murderers of our sons,” she told AFP.

Doctors linked to the protest umbrella group, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, say a total of more than 250 people have been killed in protest-related violence since December.

Protest leaders have blamed much of the violence on the feared paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces, who sprang out of the Janjaweed militia notorious for alleged war crimes during the conflict in Darfur.

The military announced on Friday that nine of them had been dismissed and arrested on suspicion of involvement in this week’s fatal shootings in Al-Obeid.

Protest leaders said they had won the military’s agreement that the RSF irregulars would be integrated in the army chain of command.

SOURCE: https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/sudan-generals-protest-camp-sign-accord-on-road-to-civilian-rule-1.65626339

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(L to R) Ethiopian mediator Mahmoud Drir attends the signing of the constitutional declaration between protest leader Ahmad Rabie and General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019 AFP

General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, celebrates after signing the constitutional declaration with a protest leader, at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019.

CREDIT: The above two photos and captions from http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/342171.aspx

Films show Sudanese security forces in El-Obeid North Kordofan firing towards schoolchildren

Article by Middle East Eye and agencies

Published date: Tuesday 30 July 2019 08:56 UTC 

Footage shows Sudanese security forces firing towards schoolchildren

Videos on social media show security forces in El-Obeid firing a truck-mounted 'Dushka' machine gun in the direction of protesters

Photo: The truck carries a skull and crossed swords insignia. The words on the windscreen read: "Playing with the big guys is tough" (Twitter)

Footage has emerged on social media which shows Sudanese security forces firing a heavy machine gun in the direction of marching schoolchildren in the southern city of El-Obeid where activists said at least five people were killed on Monday.

At least four of those killed and several others who were critically injured were schoolchildren who had been participating in the student-led march, the activist-aligned Sudanese Doctors' Committee (SDC) said in a statement.

The SDC said those killed and injured had been shot by snipers from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force which has played a leading role in quashing protests against Sudan’s ruling transitional military council.

But several videos of the scene posted from different angles show a member of the security forces firing a truck-mounted heavy machine gun, commonly known as a “Dushka” towards the protesters from close range.

فيديو واضح جدا للقوات الاطلقت الرصاص في الابيض #الأبيض_تنزف pic.twitter.com/022nZFrHFb

— cola eldabey (@coladabey2) 29 July 2019

 

To visit the above tweet click here: https://twitter.com/coladabey2/status/1155897190843375616

The truck is marked with a skull and crossed swords insignia and a windscreen sticker reads "Playing with the big guys is tough". Rocket-propelled grenades are also visible hanging on the side of the vehicle.

The footage shows the member of the security forces behind the gun rolling up his sleeves and then raising the gun at an angle to fire over the heads of those at the front of the crowd. Sustained gunfire can then be heard.

In one video filmed from the front of the crowd, another member of the security forces points in the direction of the camera and the gunmen swings the weapon round to point straight towards it, at which point the person filming appears to start running.

#مجزره_الابيض#الابيض_تنزف#نناضل_لا_نساوم #السودان#تسقط_بس pic.twitter.com/00s29N55EI

— Mai Albashir (@shambat2000) 30 July 2019

To visit the above tweet click here: https://twitter.com/shambat2000/status/1156156337954447360

The location visible in the footage of the shooting is consistent with other footage of the student protest posted online.

The truck is parked alongside the Sudanese French Bank building two blocks north of the El-Obeid Great Mosque in the city centre.

On Tuesday, the head of the transitional military council condemned the shooting of protesters as a crime.

"What happened in El-Obeid is a regrettable and upsetting matter and the killing of peaceful citizens is unacceptable and rejected and a crime that requires immediate and deterrent accountability," Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the SUNA state news agency.

A curfew is still in place in several towns in North Kordofan province, where the governor on Monday ordered all schools to suspend classes.

On Tuesday, Sudanese authorities extended that order, closing all schools nationwide indefinitely, after crowds of students launched demonstrations against Monday's attack. 

Protest call

Sudan's main protest group has called for nationwide demonstrations on Tuesday to condemn what it described as a "massacre".

"We call on our people to take to the streets. To denounce the El-Obeid massacre, to demand the perpetrators be brought to justice," the Sudanese Professionals Association said.

Negotiators for the Alliance for Freedom and Change, an umbrella protest movement, have also said they will not be holding planned talks with the country's ruling generals on Tuesday because they are still in El-Obeid and will only return tonight.

Hundreds of schoolchildren had been marching through the city's main market on Monday morning when the shooting occurred.

A resident told the AFP news agency that the protests were prompted by fuel and bread shortages. 

"School children were affected as there is no transport to help them reach their schools. Today, they staged a rally and when it reached downtown there were shots fired," the resident said. 

A live-stream broadcast on Facebook shortly after the firing showed protesters carrying the body of a dead schoolchild to his family home and hundreds gathering for funeral prayers.

SOURCE: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudans-military-ruler-says-el-obeid-killings-unacceptable-crime

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News report and film footage from the BBC

Date: Wednesday 31 July 2019

Sudan crisis: Schools suspended after student killings

The ruling military authorities ordered schools in Sudan to close their doors, the state news agency said.

It follows mass demonstrations in the country over the shooting dead of schoolchildren at a rally.

Protesting students gathered in cities including the capital Khartoum following the killings on Monday [29 July].

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NEXT STORY TO FOLLOW: Saudi Arabia deposits $250m into Sudan's central bank. Payment comes as a doctors committee close to opposition movement said sixth Al-Obeid protester has died of wounds.

Sudan's TMC Hemeti, AFC FFC, SPLM/A North (Al-Helou), Sudan Call, attend meetings in Juba S. Sudan

Article from Radio Tamazuj.org

Date: Saturday, 27 July 2019 - Juba, South Sudan

Sudan's deputy head of military council visits Juba

Photo: General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo speaking to reporters in Juba on Saturday, 27 July, 2019 (Radio Tamazuj)

The deputy head of Sudan's ruling military council arrived Saturday [27 July] in Juba, where he is to meet President Salva Kiir and Sudan rebels.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known by his nickname Hemeti, is on his first trip to South Sudan since his appointment as deputy head of Sudan's military council following the April ouster of Omar al-Bashir after months of protests.

His visit comes after members of Sudan's opposition coalition reached what they call a "political deal" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Hemeti, who also commands a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, told reporters that he visited Juba to meet with President Kiir and Sudanese rebel groups.

“We have come to Juba to brief the president on the situation in Sudan. Also, we want to meet with our brother Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu and leaders of armed movements,” Hemeti said.

“I hope that we will find solutions as soon as possible,” he added.

Hemeti was a close ally of Omar al-Bashir, but as anti-government protests escalated in December 2018, his loyalty soon wavered.

Hemeti is the one at the forefront of peace talks with opposition groups.

SOURCE: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/sudan-s-deputy-head-of-military-council-visits-juba

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Copy of 27 July 2019 by Eric Reeves

(yellow highlighting is his)

#SudanUprising: Although not widely reported, this upcoming meeting in Juba between the #TMC junta, the #FFC, and the SPLM/A-North (al-Hilu) will be one of the most important in determining whether peace at long last comes to Sudan. Al-Hilu deserves strong international support: pic.twitter.com/S7Fu4N1Fi3

— Eric Reeves (@sudanreeves) 27 July 2019

To visit above tweet, click here: 

https://twitter.com/sudanreeves/status/1155054415163875330

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Article from Middle East Monitor.com

Date: 28 June 2019 at 4:11 pm

Sudan’s Alliance for Freedom and Change to visits Juba

The Sudanese opposition alliance Sudan Call announced yesterday [27 June] that a delegation from the Alliance for Freedom and Change will travel to South Sudan to meet with the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Abdel Aziz Al-Helou tomorrow.

A spokesman for Sudan Call Khaled Bahr told the Anadolu Agency that the Alliance for Freedom and Change met to arrange the delegation’s visit to Juba.

He pointed out that Sudan Call also met to select its representatives to the delegation that will travel to Juba.

Since June 2011, SPLM has been fighting the Sudanese government in the states of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile.

SOURCE: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190628-sudans-alliance-for-freedom-and-change-to-visits-juba/

Sudan: Troika (UK, US, Norway) encourage constitutional agreement to form civilian-led govt

From: British Embassy Khartoum
Published 18 July 2019
Sudan: Troika statement, July 2019

The UK, US and Norway have issued a Troika statement welcoming the agreement reached by the Transitional Military Council and Forces for Freedom and Change.

Photo: UK Government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London

The Troika (Norway, the UK and US) welcome the agreement reached by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) on a political declaration that sets out the structure and broad responsibilities for a transitional government. We hope that these institutions can gain the trust and support of the Sudanese people.

The Troika also commends the efforts of the African Union, Ethiopian and Sudanese mediators in helping the parties achieve agreement. We encourage the parties to quickly conclude the parallel constitutional agreement and form the civilian-led transitional government, which the Sudanese people have courageously and peacefully demanded since December 2018.

We welcome the commitment of the parties to support an independent investigation of June 3 and other acts of violence, to negotiate an end to Sudan’s internal conflicts and to pursue economic, legal and constitutional reforms during the 39-month transition period. The Troika looks forward to engaging a civilian-led transitional government as it works to achieve the Sudanese people’s aspirations for responsive governance, peace, justice and development.

SOURCE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sudan-troika-statement-july-2019

Sudan opposition in disagreement with the way power-sharing deal has been done and the content

Article from africanews.com

By AFP Thursday, 18 July 2019 

Sudan opposition skeptical about power-sharing deal

“We are not against the agreement in its sense, but we are in disagreement with the way it has been done and the content.”

Sudan’s opposition has raised skepticism about the recently signed power sharing deal.

After weeks of protests following the overthrow of long serving leader, Omar al-Bashir, military rulers finally inked the long-awaited deal.

But now, the opposition is raising some questions.

“Still in spite or irrespective of what had happened this morning, we are still open-minded to sit with leaders of FFC (Forces of Freedom and Change) to bring the agreement, whatever agreement they signed this morning back to the drawing table, to develop and improve it and make it acceptable to all Sudanese”, said Gibril Ibrahim, chairperson of Justice and Equality Movement.

Gibril Ibrahim, who is also leader of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, detailed some demands.

“We are not against the agreement in its sense, the purpose, but we are in disagreement with the way it has been done and the content. We were here to develop the content, to make sure that the issues that we consider instrumental, such as issues of peace, marginalization, issues of the vulnerable people in Sudan. FFC (Forces of Freedom and Change) has not yet done so.

The agreement reached on Wednesday between the military and the protesters also provides for the establishment of a “sovereign council”.

It’s a body responsible for managing the transition for a little over three years, first led by the military and then by civilians.

SOURCE AFP 

https://www.africanews.com/2019/07/18/sudan-opposition-skeptical-about-power-sharing-deal/

Sudan: TMC transitional deal casts spotlight on role of Hemeti’s RSF militia fighters

Article from Bloomberg.com

By: Mohammed Alamin and Okech Francis

Published: 18 July 2019, 05:00 BST Updated on 18 July 2019, 15:55 BST

Devils on Horseback Leader Holds Fate of Sudan in His Hands

- Transitional deal casts spotlight on role of Hamdan’s fighters

- Notorious militia is dominant force after Bashir’s overthrow

Photo: Mohamed Hamdan on July 17. Photographer: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP via Getty Images

A one-time camel trader turned leader of a Sudanese militia known as the “devils on horseback” now holds the fate of Africa’s third-largest nation in his hands.

Known popularly as Hemeti, Mohamed Hamdan dominates the military council that overthrew President Omar al-Bashir in April. He also commands the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of killing more than 100 protesters in June in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Swaggering and unaccountable, his fighters have become the most tangible obstacle to Sudan’s escape from three decades of dictatorship.

“All roads forward in Sudan now run into the Hemeti problem,” said Alan Boswell, an analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. “Over time, his power will need to be reined in, yet any action against him at the moment risks civil war.”

The stakes go beyond Sudan, which has been rocked by coups, insurgencies and mass protests since independence in 1956. The battle for its future after the fall of Bashir -- an Islamist general and international pariah accused of war crimes -- has become another battleground for the biggest power rivalries in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been drawn in, looking to retain influence in the Red Sea nation as their tussles with Iran and Turkey for regional supremacy spread to the Horn of Africa.

The oil-rich Gulf nations in April pledged a combined $3 billion in aid to Sudan, which has been ravaged by decades of economic mismanagement that helped ignite the nationwide unrest in December. The promise of cash has given breathing space to the country’s new rulers -- mainly Bashir’s old guard -- and fueled opposition doubts there’ll be a genuine democratic transition as the elite seeks to defend its privileges.

Still, negotiations between the council and the opposition group that led the protests may have yielded a breakthrough. A deal signed Wednesday would see civilian and military representatives form an 11-seat sovereign council with executive responsibilities, and elections would be held after three years.

Photo: Tires burn during protests in Khartoum on June 3. Photographer: Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images

While the global outcry over the Khartoum massacre gave Sudan’s military rulers little choice but to reach a deal, they’ll probably seek to stall its enactment, according to Salah Aldoma, a professor of international relations at Omdurman Islamic University in Khartoum’s twin city. Hemeti’s denials of responsibility for the Khartoum attack have veered from blaming infiltrators in uniform, to vowing to hang any of his fighters who participated.

Feared Fighters

Rights groups including Amnesty International say Hemeti’s forces must withdraw from the city. On the streets, one can sense a palpable fear of his fighters, who regularly harass youths deemed sympathetic to the protests. Many residents make sure they’re home by nightfall to avoid any run-ins with the feared security services.

The militia earlier this week said in a statement it would be “gradually withdrawn from Khartoum in accordance with the security situation,” the state-run SUNA news agency reported.

Photo: Mohamed Hamdan surrounded by Rapid Support Forces in Qarri on June 15. Photographer: Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images

Hemeti’s vertiginous rise saw him deploy his fighters alongside Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The RSF, a reconstituted version of the brutal counter-insurgency group known as the janjaweed he helped organize in the western region of Darfur, is now regarded as Sudan’s most powerful military force.

While Sudan’s Gulf backers hope the nation follows the Egyptian path of military rule after the Arab Spring, they’re missing a key difference, said Boswell: “Sudan lacks a cohesive military.”

Ceding Influence

The army -- and the military council -- are officially led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a lieutenant-general who helped coordinate Sudan’s contribution to the Yemen campaign. Burhan, though, has ceded influence in public to Hemeti, who regularly addresses rallies aired on state TV.

Hemeti’s alleged role in the violence would complicate any designs he might have on the presidency. Much of Sudan’s remaining elite are desperate to improve relations with the U.S., which lifted a two-decade-old sanctions regime in 2017.

“Hemeti is looking for some guarantees so he can make a safe exit,” said Aldoma. “His use was only as a military assistant to oust Bashir.”

The Darfuri warlord is also likely to face resistance from the elites from the Nile Valley hundreds of miles to the east who’ve traditionally led the country.

While the RSF has helped them tame the protest movement and sideline some of Bashir’s hard-line Islamist supporters, the rest of Sudan’s military council could be ready to jettison him at a later date, according to Asiel Alamin, a prominent activist.

But in the short-term, any move to check Hemeti’s power risks splitting the council, said Harry Verhoeven, author of ‘Water, Civilisation and Power in Sudan.’

“It’s a dangerous proposition and very few actors in the army, RSF or other security forces have a realistic vision of political order beyond the next couple of weeks,” he said.

(Update with statement from RSF in second paragraph under Feared Fighters subheadline.)

SOURCE: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-18/devils-on-horseback-leader-holds-fate-of-sudan-in-his-hands