Their uneasy relationship, of long-standing, has now erupted into a struggle for who will control Sudan. Both generals were part of the military echelons who removed al-Bashir in 2019 and also worked to bring down a civilian-military government in 2021. Suffice it to say that the RSF, created in 2013 by deposed former President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (who is sought by the International Criminal Court for genocide and other crimes), derives from the pro-government Janjaweed militia that wreaked havoc in Darfur in the early 2000s. Their personal and political history is complicated (as explained here). The hostilities pit the armed forces of Sudan, led by Sudanese President General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the country’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary formation led by Vice-President General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the Council. The delivery of humanitarian aid is proving impossible. Once again, civilians are caught up in the chaos, dying and suffering, while civilian objects such as health care facilities are being attacked and damaged. There is little hope that either side is, for now, willing to compromise to end the fighting. According to press reports a ceasefire brokered by the United States and other countries held for barely a few minutes last Tuesday, while a redoubled effort on Wednesday held only in some areas. The power struggle between two Sudanese generals that erupted in fighting between their forces last Saturday is into its sixth day with little sign of abating.
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