Sudan: Thousands of Sudanese citizens flee to Ethiopia as security deteriorates in Blue Nile

"Thousands of Sudanese citizens flee to Ethiopia as security deteriorates in Blue Nile Region. The regional government of Blue Nile is headed by the SPLM/N faction under the command of Gen. Malik Agar. Mr. Agar was appointed as a member of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council (STSC) and later appointed as the Vice President of the council following the dismissal of Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo also known as Himite."  More. 

Map illustrating the paths of the White and Blue Nile. Credit: The Guardian

Article at African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
Published Saturday 01 July 2023 - here is a full copy:

Sudan: Thousands of Sudanese citizens flee into the neighboring Ethiopia as security deteriorates in Blue Nile Region

Photo Credit: Yusri Elshazali

(01 July 2023) - African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) would like to express concern about the deteriorating security situation in Blue Nile Region (BNR). In this release ACJPS documents a series of events that has caused thousands of Sudanese citizens to flee the region.  The reporting period is between 15 April to 30 June 2023.

The regional government of Blue Nile is headed by the SPLM/N faction under the command of Gen. Malik Agar. Mr. Agar was appointed as a member of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council (STSC) and later appointed as the Vice President of the council following the dismissal of Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo also known as Himite, the RSF High command by Gen. Abdul Fatah Al-Burhan the chairperson of STSC on 19 May 2023. It is because of this connection and affiliation that the Blue Nile government sided with Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Furthermore, the BN regional government went ahead and integrated their troops with SAF.

Although the Blue Nile government declared that they had sided with SAF, some tribal leaders like Mr. Alobid Mohamed Suleiman Abu Shotal, the clan head of Hamag under Fong group and the former member of Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) joined the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

On 26 June 2023, another faction of SPLM/N led by Gen. Abdul Aziz Adam Al-hillu attacked a SAF base located Alkurmuk. This led to approximately 4,000 people fleeing to the neighboring Ethiopia. Alkurmuk is often cut off from other parts of the region during rainy seasons and this coupled with the insecurity has scared the locals from participating in farming which is their livelihood.

Additionally, the residents of Alkurmuk had previously fled the area in 2011 during the war between the Sudanese government and SPLM/N.  Several locals returned in 2020 after the signing of the Sudanese Peace Agreement, 2020 since the 2011 war between the government and SPLM/N. The recent incidents of conflict have taken the area a thousand steps backwards.

On 26 June 2023, the SPLM/N-Abdul Aziz launched an attack targeting another SAF military base in Blue Nile Region. The attack came shortly after SPLM/N troops moved from their base in Yabos which is located approximately 80 kilometers from Alkurmuk. SPLM/N successfully managed to take over small SAF bases in Abu Alnzir Nogo while on their way to Alkurmuk. Prior to the takeover, SPLM/N received heavy resistance from SAF soldiers at the base. This incident led to the displacement of thousands of residents to the neighboring Ethiopia.

On 18 June 2023, Gen. Ahmed Alomda Badi, the Governor of Blue Nile Region issued decree no.  53/2023 authorizing the creation of a committee mandated to approve and permit residents to travel out of the region. The committee was formed and it comprises of representatives from the Sudanese Police Forces, National Security and SAF Military Intelligence. The committee operated from Al-damazin Popular Market where the buses are stationed. The governor derived his power from the Sudanese Constitutional Bill, 2019 that placed a restriction on movement which is a clear violation of citizens’ freedom of movement. It was also vivid in the decree that the Blue Nile regional government sided with SAF in the ongoing armed conflict with RSF.

Gen. Alomda, the Blue Nile governor later established another committee to follow up and investigate the incidents that happened at the Ethiopian Refugees Camp located in Wad Almahi locality in Blue Nile. Unfortunately, because of the armed conflict, the World Food Program (WFP) was unable to provide the humanitarian assistance to the camp during the month May 2023 which led to death of several female refugees. The absence of humanitarian aid led the BNR government to contemplate closing the camp but later WFP resumed its mandate. The committee then reached out to the refugees who had left and requested them to return to the camp. 1,205 refugees, mostly from Tegrai expressed their willingness to return to camp and at least 5,000 others, majority who were from Bani Shangol immediately returned. It is worth mentioning that majority of the 5,000 refugees are affiliated to Bani Shangol opposition movement which is enjoying certain privileges in Blue Nile because of their relationship and alliance with SAF. Members of the committee including Commissioner Mahjoob Elshekh, Mr. Abdul Gani Degis, the commissioner attached to BNR, Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Mr. Ramadan Yassin and Mr. Aljaili Elshareef the refugee’s commissioner committed to respect the choices and decisions of the refugees.

On 20 May 2023, the BNR Ministry of Finance announced a salary reduction for public servants for a period of three months in order to support SAF during the ongoing armed conflict. 1,000 Sudanese Pounds was deducted from public servants earning 3,000 Sudanese Pounds and 10,000 Sudanese Pounds from regional ministers and commissioners. The announcement was made shortly before the salaries for the month of April was paid. By so doing, the regional government forcefully involved the public servants to participate in the war through financial contribution.

On 20 May 2023, Gen. Ahmed Al-Omda Badi, the Blue Nile Governor chaired a meeting attended by a number of prominent members from various professions and sectors in the region. Mr. Mirghani Makki Mirghani, the Secretary General of the regional government told SUNA News that the meeting was aimed at mobilizing support to extend to SAF.

In a separate incident, Gen. Agar made a statement that “RSF may have won in clashes but SAF will definitely win the War”.

Shortly after Gen. Agar was appointed the Vice President of the STSC, his historical opponent Mr. Alobid Mohamed Suleiman Abu Shotal, the community leader of Hamag clan of the Fong group and former leader of SPLM and SPLM/N announced that he was joining RSF. Prior to joining RSF, Mr. Abu Shotal was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

On 15 April 2023, SAF captured the RSF training Center in Blue Nile, arrested at least 800 RSF recruits under training and later released them. Although RSF was training the new recruits, they had a military background as they were members of Kobaje militia who called themselves the “Blue Nile Lions”. The Kobaje Militia was established in 2011 by SAF to fight against the SPLM/N in 2011. Majority of them were retired SAF soldiers from Fazogli, Bron and Hamag clans of the Fong Group and some members from Bani Shangol. Shortly after capturing and releasing the group, SAF called upon the Kobaje Militia to join them. The group was flown to Khartoum through Al-damazin airport to Wade Sideena Military air base in Omdurman. At least 700 troops were deployed in Omdurman, Karari locality, Althuras and Alwaha neighborhoods. On 26 May 2023, the group was also accused of looting properties of the residents and raping female civilians in Omdurman.  The troops later returned to Blue Nile.

On 21 June 2023, the SAF unit of BNR held a ceremony to appreciate the militia for their participation in the ongoing conflict.

 

On 20 June 2023, Gen. Ahmed Alomda the governor of BNR announced the emergency status of the region for a period of one month since the outbreak of conflict between some Fong clans and the Hawsa tribe. He also ordered for the release of prisoners.

In second week of June 2023, a short video circulated on social media platforms showing Mr. Abu Shotal wearing an RSF uniform standing in front of an RSF military vehicle in the company of five RSF soldiers while in Khartoum. On 27 June 2023, in another video clip, Mr. Abu Shotal is seen wearing an RSF uniform while at the headquarters of Central Reserve Police (CRP) in Khartoum, confirming that they (RSF) had captured the premises. In the video, Mr. Abu Shotal also stated that they are reforming the state as the marginalized groups are not enjoying the services and what he called “historical benefits”.

Background

The Blue Nile Region is located in the south-eastern part of Sudan bordering Ethiopia and South Sudan. In 2017, the SPLM/N split into two factions due to disagreements between Gen. Malik Agar and Gen. Abdul Aziz Al Hillu with each General controlling different territories. However, the political situation in the region changed drastically following the establishment of the Transitional government in 2019 and the Juba Peace Agreement, 2020 of which SPLM/N under the command of Gen. Agar is a signatory. It is for this very reason that Gen. Agar continues leading Blue Nile government.

View original: http://www.acjps.org/sudan-thousands-of-sudanese-citizens-flee-into-the-neighboring-ethiopia-as-security-deteriorates-in-blue-nile-region/

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Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict. Burhan calls for Sudan’s young civilians to fight against RSF

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This article shows a photo of Hemeti dated 2019. Not seen his face since he was demoted to a rebel. Two unverified voice messages from him are online. Can't find news of his whereabouts. Is he still alive? No-one's asking. Rumours online say he's in a Kenyan hospital, not true says Kenyan President Ruto in a recent video news report. 

Four writers of this article use the words "conflict" and "war"to describe Sudan's current crisis. Many writers casually use the words "war" and "genocide" whether true or not. Words have power. Young people now rely on social media for news, mainstream media is not seen as trustworthy. 

The article is followed by a cartoon from a report at Radio Dabanga titled 'El Burhan calls for Sudan's 'young and capable' civilians to fight against RSF'. 

The caption for the cartoon says 'Civilians who were killed for their protests against the actions of the military and Rapid Support Forces are now being asked to defend Sudan for Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan. 

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Article at Reuters.com
By Khalid Abdelaziz

Writing by Michael Georgy and Aidan Lewis, Editing by William Maclean
Published June 28, 2023, 5:05 AM GMT+1 - here is a full copy:

Exclusive: Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict, military sources say

Summary

• Ex-intelligence agents fighting alongside army-sources
• Army has leant on Bashir-era veterans since 2021 coup
• Conflict pits army general against ex-militia leader

[1/5]Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the military council and head of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), greets his supporters as he arrives at a meeting in Aprag village, 60 kilometers away from Khartoum, Sudan, June 22, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

DUBAI, June 28 (Reuters) - Thousands of men who worked as intelligence operatives under former president Omar al-Bashir and have ties to his Islamist movement are fighting alongside the army in Sudan's war, three military sources and one intelligence source said, complicating efforts to end the bloodshed.

The army and a paramilitary force have been battling each other in Khartoum, Darfur and elsewhere for 10 weeks in Africa's third largest country by area, displacing 2.5 million people, causing a humanitarian crisis and threatening to destabilise the region. Reinforcements for either side could deepen the conflict.

The army has long denied accusations by its rivals in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that it depends on discredited loyalists of Bashir, an Islamist long shunned by the West, who was toppled during a popular uprising in 2019.

In response to a question from Reuters for this article, an army official said: "The Sudanese army has no relation with any political party or ideologue. It is a professional institution."

Yet the three military sources and an intelligence source said thousands of Islamists were battling alongside the army.

"Around 6,000 members of the intelligence agency joined the army several weeks before the conflict," said a military official familiar with the army's operations, speaking on condition on anonymity.

"They are fighting to save the country."

Former officials of the country's now-disbanded National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), a powerful institution composed mainly of Islamists, confirmed these numbers.

An Islamist resurgence in Sudan could complicate how regional powers deal with the army, hamper any move towards civilian rule and ultimately set the country, which once hosted al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, on a path for more internal conflict and international isolation.

Reuters spoke to 10 sources for this article, including military and intelligence sources and several Islamists.

In a development indicative of Islamist involvement, an Islamist fighter named Mohammed al-Fadl was killed this month in clashes between RSF forces and the army, said family members and Islamists. He had been fighting alongside the army, they said.

Ali Karti, secretary general of Sudan's main Islamic organisation, sent a statement of condolences for al-Fadl.

'OUR IDENTITY AND OUR RELIGION'

"We are fighting and supporting the army to protect our country from external intervention and keep our identity and our religion," said one Islamist fighting alongside the army.

Bashir's former ruling National Congress Party said in a statement it had no ties to the fighting and only backed the army politically.

The army accused the RSF of promoting Islamists and former regime loyalists in their top ranks, a charge the RSF denied. Army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan, who analysts see as a non-ideological army man, has publicly dismissed claims that Islamists are helping his forces. "Where are they?" he cried out to cheering troops in a video posted in May.

The military, which under Bashir had many Islamist officers, has been a dominant force in Sudan for decades, staging coups, fighting internal wars and amassing economic holdings.

But following the overthrow of Bashir, Burhan developed good ties with states that have worked against Islamists in the region, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Gulf states provided Khartoum with significant aid.

Nowadays, former NISS officers also help the military by collecting intelligence on its enemies in the latest conflict. The NISS was replaced by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) after Bashir was toppled, and stripped of its armed "operations" unit, according to a constitutional agreement.

Most of the men from that unit have sided with the army, but some former operations unit members and Islamists who served under Bashir entered the RSF, one army source and one intelligence source said.

"We are working in a very hard situation on the ground to back up the army, especially with information about RSF troops and their deployment," said a GIS official.

Reuters Graphics

BASHIR-ERA VETERANS

The army outnumbers the RSF nationally, but analysts say it has little capacity for street fighting because it outsourced previous wars in remote regions to militias. Those militias include the "Janjaweed" that helped crush an insurgency in Darfur and later developed into the RSF.

Nimble RSF units have occupied large areas of Khartoum and this week took control of the main base of the Central Reserve Police, a force that the army had deployed in ground combat in the capital. They seized large amounts of weaponry.

But the army, which has depended mainly on air strikes and heavy artillery, could benefit from GIS intelligence gathering skills honed over decades as it tries to root out the RSF.

On June 7, fire engulfed the intelligence headquarters in a disputed area in central Khartoum. Both sides accused the other of attacking the building.

After Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, carried out a coup in 2021 which derailed a transition to democracy, Hemedti said the move was a mistake and warned it would encourage Islamists to seek power.

Regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the UAE had seen Sudan's transition towards democracy as a way to counter Islamist influence in the region, which they consider a threat.

Publicly, the army has asserted its loyalty to the uprising that ousted Bashir in 2019.

But after the military staged a coup in 2021 that provoked a resurgence of mass street protests, it leaned on Bashir-era veterans to keep the country running. A taskforce that had been working to dismantle the former ruling system was disbanded.

Before the outbreak of violence, Bashir supporters had been lobbying against a plan for a transition to elections under a civilian government. Disputes over the chain of command and the structure of the military under the plan triggered the fighting.

About a week after fighting broke out in April, a video on social media showed about a dozen former intelligence officials in army uniforms announcing themselves as reserve forces.

The footage could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Several senior Bashir loyalists walked free from prison in Bahri, across the Nile from central Khartoum, during a wider prison break amid fighting in late April. The circumstances of their release remain unclear. Bashir is in a military hospital.

[2/5]Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir addresses supporters during his visit to the war-torn Darfur region, in Bilal, Darfur, Sudan September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

[3/5]A Sudanese national flag is attached to a machine gun of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldiers as they wait for the arrival of Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the military council and head of RSF, before a meeting in Aprag village 60, kilometers away from Khartoum, Sudan, June 22, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo 

[4/5]A burned vehicle is seen in Khartoum, Sudan April 26, 2023. REUTERS/El-Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

[5/5]Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan walks with troops, in an unknown location, in this picture released on May 30, 2023. Sudanese Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

View original: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/islamists-wield-hidden-hand-sudan-conflict-military-sources-say-2023-06-28/

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Post script from Sudan Watch Editor:

Cartoon by Omar Dafallah, published in Radio Dabanga's report below.

Caption: Civilians who were killed for their protests against the actions of the military and Rapid Support Forces are now being asked to defend Sudan for Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan 

- Cartoon by Omar Dafallah (RD)

Read more in report at Radio Dabanga, Thur 29 Jun 2023: El Burhan calls for Sudan’s ‘young and capable’ civilians to fight against RSF https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/el-burhan-calls-for-sudans-young-and-capable-civilians-to-fight-against-rsf )

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- - -

UPDATED Fri 30 Jun 2023 00:25 GMT+1 - added the following:

Report at Sudan Tribune

Published Tues 27 Jun 2023 - here is an excerpt:

Burhan calls on Sudanese youth to join the army

Sudan’s political parties have called for an end to the war and negotiations to integrate the RSF ahead of an inclusive political conference. For their part, the armed groups in Darfur that have signed a peace deal have declared their neutrality.

The SPLM-N, led by Malik Agar, is now fighting alongside the army after its full integration. In contrast, the SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu in the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile has recently launched attacks against the Sudanese army, speaking about its failure to protect civilians.

Al-Burhan announced a one-day truce on the first day of Eid and reaffirmed the commitment of the armed forces to transfer power to a civilian government chosen by the Sudanese people. He further denounced the ongoing violations against civilians in Darfur as “ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

Read more: https://sudantribune.com/article274719/

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