Civil War in Sudan?

The Sudanese capital, Khartoum, witnessed a significant escalation in violence during the past few days due to battles between the military and paramilitary forces loyal to the Sovereign Council, on the one hand, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the other.

RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka “Hemeti,” competes for power with the military and paramilitary forces loyal to the Sovereign Council.

Since the beginning of the week, rumors have circulated about the possibility of Hemeti launching a military coup against the current regime after mobilizing his forces in different parts of the capital.

However, the Sovereign Council and the civilian government, who are still being held under house arrest after the coup, raised their concerns about the RSF’s mobilization of forces, accusing it of attempting to launch a coup.

In turn, Hameti, who was previously a member of the Janjaweed, which was responsible for crimes in Darfur, accused the Sovereign Council and the “Muslim Brotherhood” movement, which is part of the government, of attempting to eliminate him and his RSF force.

Sudanese sources confirmed that the situation is likely to escalate if the two sides do not agree to a political solution to the ongoing crisis.

It is worth noting that Sudan has been suffering from political and economic instability since the overthrow of the Al-Bashir regime in April 2019. The situation has further worsened due to the ongoing tensions between the military and civilians, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.