The war in Sudan and the safe return of Pakistanis

The war in Sudan and the safe return of Pakistani

April 19, 2023

The heart- rending sounds of loud spring explosions, the shadow of black clouds and black smoke in the sky, the tremors of gunfire, the sound of rockets and rumors of fear and uncertainty in the air.

After the civil war in Sudan's capital Khartoum and many other parts of the country, life has suddenly taken a very dramatic turn from bad to worse.

At its center are two generals: Abdul Fattah Al- Barban, head of the Sudanese Armed Forces SAF, and General Muhammad Hamdan Daqlou, known as Hamidati, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces - RSF.

Both of them have worked together in the army and now they have rebelled together. Now their war for supremacy is affecting Sudan badly.

The history of relationship between the two is very old. Both played an important role in crushing the Darfur rebels in the civil war that broke out in the western region of Sudan in 2003.

General Burhan took over the leadership of the Sudanese army in Darfur.

At the time, General Hamidati was the commander of one of the many Arab militia groups, collectively known as the Janjaweed, used by the Sudanese government to brutally exterminate the largely non- Arab Darfur rebel groups. 

Majak Da Aghut was the Deputy Minister of Defense when South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011.

Majak Da Aghout used to meet General Burhan and Hamidati in Darfur. He told the BBC that the two had done good things together, but that he had seen little during that period to suggest that the two would ever rise to a higher position in Sudan. .

Hamidati was merely a militia leader who assisted the army with the role of suppressing the rebellion.

General Burhan was a career soldier. Given the high ambitions of the Sudanese officer corps, it was likely that they would try to reach any position.

The military has been in power for most of Sudan's post- independence history.

The government's strategy in Darfur, once described by Sudanese expert Alex de Waal as a counterinsurgency on the cheap, means low- paid ethnic militias fighting alongside the regular army to fight the rebels. using air power, and this policy had no regard for civilian casualties.

Darfur has been described as the first genocide of the 21st century, with the Janjaweed accused of committing genocide and using mass rape as a weapon of war.

General Hamidati eventually became the commander of these Sudanese paramilitary militias called the RSF, which can be said to be an offshoot of the Janjaweed.

The Janjaweed militia is accused of genocide and mass rape during the Darfur conflict.

Hamidati's power and influence greatly increased when he began supplying troops to fight for the Saudi- led coalition in Yemen.

Sudan's military ruler at the time, Omar al- Bashir, relied heavily on General Hamidati and the RSF to counter the threat of the regular armed forces seizing power.

They believed that the presence of another armed force in response to the military would make it difficult for either of them to depose them.

However, in April 2019, after months of popular protests, these two armed forces — the Sudanese military and paramilitary forces — united to overthrow General Omar al- Bashir.

Later that year he signed an agreement with the protesters to form a civilian- led government overseen by the Autonomous Council, a joint civilian- military body headed by General Burhan, with Hamidati as his deputy.

Civilian- military co- operation continued for two years until October 2021, when the military seized power, this time again with General Brian Dabara as head of state and Hamidati as his deputy.

A Sudanese socialist leader, Siddiq Tawar Kefi was a civilian member of the Autonomous Council and therefore met regularly with the two generals.

He said that he had not seen any sign of any disagreement between them till the 2021 uprising.

Flames and smoke can be seen in Khartoum as troops under the command of the two generals clash.

He told the BBC that after that, however, General Burhan began to restore Islamists and members of the former government to their old positions.

It was becoming clear that General Burhan's plan was to restore Omar al- Bashir's old regime to power.

Mr. Siddiq Tawar says that this went on until Hamidati became suspicious because he felt that Omar al- Bashir's associates never fully trusted him.

Sudanese politics has always been dominated by an elite, largely from ethnic groups around Khartoum and the Nile.

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Hamidati is from Darfur, and Sudanese elites often speak derisively of him and his soldiers, for example calling them "labald" bomkin, meaning these people are peasants and ungovernable.

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In the last two or three years, Hamidati tried to establish himself as a national leader, especially working to make himself a leader of the backward classes.

It has sought to form alliances with rebel groups in Darfur and South Kordofan that it was tasked with destroying.

Although his militias have in the past brutally and harshly crushed citizen pr

Tensions between the military and the RSF increased as the deadline for the formation of a civilian government approached, focusing on the critical issue of how the RSF should be reintegrated into the regular Sudanese armed forces. .

Then came the RSF's fight against the SAF, Hamidati's war against General Burhan, the tug- of- war for control of the Sudanese state.

Over the years he has built a vast business empire, including his interests in gold mining and the development of many other sectors.

Both Generals Burhan and Hamidati have faced demands from civilian leaders and victims of conflicts in Darfur and elsewhere to prosecute them for alleged abuses.

Both have a lot at stake and the former allies who are now enemies have many reasons not to budge from their respective positions.

Pakistanis trapped in Sudan are safe and secure

Monitoring of related measures was ongoing, in Sudan

Pakistani embassy with stranded Pakistanis

Constantly in touch.

Due to the war in Sudan, the Pakistanis were facing difficulties and dangers in their evacuation. The government of Pakistan determined safe routes for the Pakistanis to evacuate. Pakistanis are being transported to safe places from Khartoum in groups. , the brotherly countries of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt

Assisted in the evacuation of Pakistanis, the Prime Minister

Shahbaz Sharif thanked the leadership of Saudi, Turkey and Egypt for helping the evacuation.

Pakistani embassies in friendly countries and the region are helping Pakistanis to return home. The Prime Minister congratulated Bilawal Bhutto, Hina Rabbani Khar, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistani Ambassador to Sudan. Kudos to I

What has been presented?

According to TV Channel Express News, the plan for the safe return of Pakistanis from war- torn Sudan is successfully underway, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was personally monitoring the ongoing emergency plan for 72 hours, 427 Pakistanis reached Port Sudan safely from where they The government of Pakistan also arranged accommodation and food for 427 Pakistanis who will reach Pakistan.