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Rival Generals Unleash Fighting in Sudan, Dashing Dreams of Democracy Rival Generals Unleash Fighting in Sudan, Dashing Dreams of Democracy
(about 4 hours later)
NAIROBI, Kenya — Fighting raged on Saturday across the capital of Sudan as months of rising tensions between rival factions of the armed forces suddenly spiraled into an all-out battle for control of one of Africa’s biggest countries. NAIROBI, Kenya — Fighting raged on Saturday across the capital of Sudan and in a handful of other cities as months of rising tensions between rival factions of the armed forces suddenly spiraled into an all-out battle for control of one of Africa’s biggest countries.
Clashes that erupted early in the day at a military base in the capital, Khartoum, quickly spread to the presidential palace, the international airport and the headquarters of the state broadcaster. Residents cowered in their homes as gunfire and explosions rang out. Warplanes screeched over rooftops at low altitudes. Clashes at a military base in the capital, Khartoum, quickly spread to the presidential palace, the international airport and the headquarters of the state broadcaster. Residents cowered in their homes as gunfire and explosions rang out. Warplanes screeched over rooftops at low altitudes.
By Saturday evening, it was unclear who was in control of the country. By Saturday evening, it was unclear who was in control of Sudan, a sprawling and strategically important country just south of Egypt.
The chaos was an alarming turn for a nation that only four years ago was an inspiration to both Africa and the Arab world. Jubilant protesters, symbolized in part by a young woman in a white robe, toppled their widely detested ruler of three decades, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, ushering in expectations of democracy and an end to the country’s global isolation. The chaos was an alarming turn for a nation that only four years ago was an inspiration to both Africa and the Arab world. Jubilant protesters, symbolized in part by a young woman in a white robe, toppled their widely detested ruler of three decades, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, ushering in hopes for democracy and an end to the country’s grinding isolation.
The revolution faltered 18 months ago when two generals, now fighting each other, united to seize power in a coup. But the future of Sudan, a strategically important country just south of Egypt, has preoccupied pro-democracy protesters who have continued to lose their lives in demonstrations, as well as Western countries, notably the United States. The revolution faltered 18 months ago when Sudan’s two most powerful generals, who are now fighting each other, united to seize power in a coup. But pro-democracy protesters refused to back down, continuing to lose their lives in demonstrations, and the fate of Sudan remained a preoccupation of Western countries, notably the United States.
In the past year, Sudan has become an important battleground in the West’s rivalry with Russia. Russia’s private military company Wagner has deployed mercenaries to Sudan and runs a major gold mining concession, while the Kremlin has pressed Sudan for permission to allow Russian warships to dock at ports on the country’s Red Sea coastline. In part, that’s because Sudan has become a flashpoint in the wider global rivalry between the West and Russia.
Any hopes for a peaceful transition to democracy were shattered early Saturday, however, when strained relations between the two generals in charge of the country — the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, the commander of the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries — turned violent. The Kremlin-backed private military company Wagner has deployed mercenaries to Sudan and runs a major gold mining concession, while Russia’s government has pressed Sudan to allow Russian warships to dock at its Red Sea ports.
Videos circulating on social media showed soldiers firing in the streets, armored vehicles speeding through residential areas and travelers taking shelter on the floor of the airport amid reports of battles inside the terminal. Sudan’s military, which has struggled to rule effectively, was supposed to hand back power to civilian leaders this month, as part of a Western-backed deal. But any hopes for a peaceful transition were shattered early Saturday when strained relations between the most powerful military leaders — the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, the commander of the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries — turned violent.
Sudan’s doctors’ committee, which tracks casualties during disturbances, said by Saturday afternoon that at least three people had been killed and dozens injured. As fighting spread through Khartoum, videos circulating on social media showed soldiers firing in the streets, armored vehicles speeding through residential areas and travelers taking shelter on the floor of the airport amid reports of gunfire outside the terminal.
Sudan’s doctors’ committee, which tracks casualties during disturbances, said by Saturday afternoon that at least three people had been killed and dozens injured. A senior United Nations official said the toll was likely much higher.
Western officials said that Sudanese military warplanes, pictured flying low over the city, had attacked Rapid Support Forces camps at several locations around the city.
Saudia Airlines said in a statement that one of its planes was damaged on the runway at the airport. One person posted a video, shot inside an airplane, saying that two people had been killed in the seats behind him. It was unclear if the two incidents were linked.Saudia Airlines said in a statement that one of its planes was damaged on the runway at the airport. One person posted a video, shot inside an airplane, saying that two people had been killed in the seats behind him. It was unclear if the two incidents were linked.
By Saturday afternoon, both sides had issued dueling statements accusing each other of starting the fight and making conflicting claims about who controlled key positions, like the presidential palace, the Khartoum airport and military airfields in other cities, including al-Obeid and Meroe. The claims could not be independently verified. By Saturday night, both sides accused the other of starting the fighting, and made conflicting claims about who controlled key positions like the presidential palace and the airport. The Rapid Support Forces said it controlled “90 percent of military areas” — a claim that was essentially unverifiable, amid the chaos.
An official at a Western embassy in Khartoum said clashes had also erupted in the city of Nyala, in the western Darfur region. Western and United Nations officials reported clashes in at least six cities outside the capital. Many were in the western Darfur region, a theater of brutal civil conflict for much of the past two decades.
“We are sorry to be fighting our countrymen, but this criminal is the one who forced us to do it,” General Hamdan told Al Jazeera Mubasher, an Arabic-language television station, during a strongly worded interview in which he also called General al-Burhan a liar and a “thief.” There are fears the conflict could draw in Sudan’s neighbors. Chad, which shares a 600-mile border with Sudan, much of it abutting Darfur, said it was closing its border until further notice.
Egypt has openly sided with Sudan’s military as tensions have risen. General Hamdan’s forces posted a video on Saturday from a military base in Meroe, 125 miles north of Khartoum, showing recently captured Egyptian soldiers.
In a statement, Egypt’s military confirmed it had troops in Sudan, and said it was coordinating with Sudanese authorities to ensure their welfare.
With the internet and television services still operating, the warring military generals issued verbal salvos as their troops clashed on the ground. “We are sorry to be fighting our countrymen, but this criminal is the one who forced us to do it,” General Hamdan told Al Jazeera in an interview in which he called General al-Burhan a liar and a “thief.”
“We will capture Burhan and bring him to justice, or he dies like any dog,” he added.“We will capture Burhan and bring him to justice, or he dies like any dog,” he added.
An army spokesman called General Hamdan the leader of “rebel” forces, and said the only viable future for the country was “under one army under disciplined military command.” An army spokesman called General Hamdan, who until Saturday morning was formally the deputy leader of Sudan, a “rebel.” Later, on its Facebook page, the army said there would be “no negotiations or dialogue” until the Rapid Support Forces had been disbanded.
The scenes of combat and chaos unfolding on Saturday, often outside the windows of terrified residents filming with their cellphones, were alarming even in a country with a long experience of military takeovers. Although Sudan, which gained independence in 1956, has had more successful coups than any other African country, none have involved such intensive combat between two wings of the armed forces in the center of the capital. The chaotic scenes in the capital, many unfolding outside the windows of terrified residents filming with their cellphones, were alarming even in a country with a long record of military takeovers. Although Sudan has experienced more coups than any other African country, none has involved such intensive combat between rival wings of the armed forces in the center of the capital.
Although it was too early to say if the country was tumbling into a civil war, several people reached by phone said it felt like that.Although it was too early to say if the country was tumbling into a civil war, several people reached by phone said it felt like that.
“There is fighting in Khartoum. There is fighting in Meroe. There is fighting around the Khartoum airport,” Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, a former adviser to Abdalla Hamdok, Sudan’s civilian prime minister who was ousted in the bloodless October 2021 military coup, said in a phone interview. “How else do you define civil war?” “I am not surprised at all,” said Galal Yousif, an artist in Khartoum. “Unfortunately, on the one side is a militia, and on the other is a general who is turned the army into a militia to help him stay in power.”
The violent mayhem was also a major blow to American, United Nations, African Union and other foreign officials who had been scrambling this past week to head off the possibility of just such clashes. The latest clashes, he said, undermined the efforts of all of the Sudanese people who went into the streets to fight for democracy during the 2019 popular uprising. “It is like it happened for nothing,” he said.
The United States secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, said on Twitter that he was “deeply concerned” by the reported clashes, and urged the warring generals to “continue talks to resolve outstanding issues.” The mayhem was also a major blow to the diplomatic efforts of American, United Nations, African Union and Arab officials who had been scrambling to stave off possible clashes.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell Fontelles, issued a similar call. “Protection of citizens is a priority,” he wrote. The United States secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, said on Twitter that he was “deeply concerned” by the clashes in Sudan. He urged the warring generals to “continue talks to resolve outstanding issues.”
The confrontation was also a cause of “serious concern” in Moscow, where the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement urging “restraint and urgent steps toward a cease-fire.” The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which also wield influence in Sudan, joined the public calls for de-escalation. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell Fontelles, said the protection of civilians should be a priority.
In fact, this was supposed to be a moment when Sudan’s warring generals would surrender power, not battle over it. Under a Western-backed deal signed in December, General al-Burhan and General Hamdan agreed to hand power back to a civilian-led government as early as this month. The confrontation caused alarm in Moscow, where the Russian Foreign Ministry urged “restraint and urgent steps toward a cease-fire.”
But the handover required them to agree on how quickly they would merge their forces into a single army, and that became a source of burning, apparently insurmountable, disagreement. Diplomats involved in the talks said that army hard-liners wanted General Hamdan to disband his Rapid Support Force within two years. General Hamdan insisted it would take at least 10 years. This was supposed to be the week when Sudan’s warring generals would surrender power, not battle over it.
As fighting intensified on Saturday, internet access remained open, which allowed some Sudanese to vent their anger at the warring military leaders they said were holding the country hostage. But some also turned their ire against foreign diplomats they accused of pushing forward with an unviable political deal, while failing to defuse Sudan’s most pressing problem: the explosive tensions inside the military. Under the Western-backed deal signed in December, General al-Burhan and General Hamdan had agreed to return power to a civilian-led government, effectively reversing the 2021 coup.
“The political process did not address the most dangerous issue,” said Mr. Eltayeb, the former official. “There was an assumption that by ignoring it, it would solve itself. That was nonsense.” But any handover required agreement on how quickly they would merge their forces — a source of burning, apparently insurmountable, disagreement. Diplomats involved in the talks said some senior officers wanted a unified army in two years. General Hamdan insisted it would take at least 10 years.
Mr. Eltayeb, who said he could hear gunfire outside his home as he spoke, cut short the call after receiving a report that a relative’s house in Omdurman, on the other side of the Nile, had been hit during fighting there. He later messaged to say his relatives were OK. As night fell on Saturday, reports that fighting had spread to military bases in the Darfur region stoked worries that some of the region’s numerous heavily-armed rebel groups could get sucked into the fighting.
As the violence escalated and spread on Saturday afternoon, powerful Arab nations joined the diplomatic scramble to try to end it. The United Arab Emirates, which has sway over both sides, called publicly for a de-escalation, urging them to work out the differences through dialogue, the Emirati state news agency reported. Other Sudanese directed their frustration at U.N. officials and foreign diplomats they accused of promoting an unviable political deal while failing to defuse the most pressing problem: explosive intra-military tensions.
In many ways, the turmoil was yet another byproduct of the ruinous three decades of rule under Mr. al-Bashir, who has been incarcerated at Khartoum’s Kober prison for much of the time since his ouster in 2019. “The political process did not address the most dangerous issue,” said Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, a former senior adviser to Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian prime minister who was ousted in 2021. “There was an assumption that by ignoring it, it would solve itself. That was nonsense.”
Mr. al-Bashir oversaw a campaign of state-sponsored violence in the western region of Darfur from 2003 that badly fractured the country and led to him being indicted on charges of war crimes and genocide at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. The Darfur conflict was also responsible for the rise of General Hamdan, widely known as Hemeti. Mr. al-Bashir, the former dictator ousted in 2019, has been incarcerated at Khartoum’s Kober prison for most of the past four years. But the continuing turmoil is seen by many as a byproduct of his three decades of rule.
General Hamdan cut his teeth as a commander of the notorious janjaweed militias that carried out the worst atrocities in Darfur in the 2000s. In 2013, Mr. al-Bashir appointed him to lead the newly created Rapid Support Forces, as a hedge against perceived threats from inside the military. When in power, Mr. al-Bashir oversaw a brutal campaign of genocidal, state-sponsored violence in Darfur that caused the International Criminal Court to indict him for war crimes, and which paved the way for the rise of General Hamdan, widely known as Hemeti.
Since Mr. al-Bashir’s ouster, General Hamdan has promoted himself as a reborn democrat — and a possible future leader of Sudan. He made an unlikely alliance with a coalition of civilian political parties, some of whom previously came under attack from the Rapid Support Forces. Of humble origins, General Hamdan first came to prominence as a commander of the notorious janjaweed and militias responsible for the worst atrocities of that conflict. His success in crushing the revolt earned him the favor of Mr. al-Bashir, who in 2013 appointed him as head of the newly created Rapid Support Forces.
But at the same time, a war of words with the army, led by General al-Burhan, grew steadily more intense. Since then, General Hamdan has become influential and wealthy, with a business empire that includes extensive gold mining interests. But more recently he has promoted himself as a reborn democrat — and a possible future leader of Sudan.
In recent months, the two generals criticized each other in speeches and moved more troops into rival camps across Khartoum. Speaking to The New York Times last month, Abdul Rahim Dagalo, the deputy commander of the Rapid Support Forces, accused the army chief of building a wall around his headquarters to isolate him from the country. In recent months, he forged an unlikely alliance with a coalition of civilian political parties, including groups that once came under attack by his troops. But at the same time, his war of words with General al-Burhan, his putative boss and the army commander, grew steadily more intense.
The two generals began to criticize one another publicly, while moving more troops into rival camps across Khartoum. Speaking to The New York Times last month, Abdul Rahim Dagalo, the deputy commander of the Rapid Support Forces, and General Hamdan’s close brother, accused the army chief of building a wall around his headquarters to isolate him from the country.
“He doesn’t care what happens outside the wall,” Mr. Dagalo said at his Khartoum villa. “He doesn’t care if the rest of the country burns.”“He doesn’t care what happens outside the wall,” Mr. Dagalo said at his Khartoum villa. “He doesn’t care if the rest of the country burns.”
John Godfrey, the United States ambassador to Sudan, said on Twitter that he had returned to Sudan on Friday night, only to wake to “the deeply disturbing sounds of gunfire and fighting.”
“I am currently sheltering in place with the Embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing,” he wrote. “I urgently call on senior military leaders to stop the fighting.”
Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting.Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting.