Refuting its war Lies.. “Africa Intelligence” exposes the militia’s claim to fight the “remnants”

Report – Agencies

The French website “Africa Intelligence” published a report stating that many of the main figures in the regime of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir are currently in the ranks of the Rapid Support RSF Militia led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), despite the latter’s claim to fight the regular army under the pretext of ridding Sudan of the Islamist supporters of the former President, who belong to the National Congress .

Blood Relations :

The website, which has specialized in African affairs since the early 1980s , explained that since the beginning of the war in Sudan last year, Hemedti has mobilized support by claiming that he is fighting the former regime led by al-Bashir and the party that ruled for decades at the time, the “National Congress”.
The report says that blood relations, marriage, and tribal affiliation constitute a decisive factor in joining the Rapid Support RSF Militia. Many of Hemeti’s most senior figures were supporters of Bashir’s regime and joined Hemeti’s forces because of blood ties.
He noted at the same time that one of Hemeti’s most prominent political advisers, Yousuf Ezzat al-Maheri, is a defector from the Communist Party.
He said that his brother, Mohamed Ezzat, who has a much lower profile in the RSF, was an important player under Bashir in Hemeti’s home area of North Darfur.
Mahri brothers are from the same Rizeigat tribe as Hemeti, and from the same clan within that tribe. Others are from Arab tribes close to Hemeti, such as Abdel Moneim al-Rabie, who was a member of the National Congress Party (NCP)and is a youth leader in the Sudanese Islamic Movement and currently works in the United Kingdom.
Similarly, al-Fatih Qurashi, another former Bashir-era Islamist youth leader who was very active in West Kordofan, is now a spokesperson for the RSF.
Change of allegiance :

The same applies to Hasabo Mohamed Abdel Rahman, who was vice president under Bashir and deputy secretary-general of the Islamic Movement, and changed his position at the beginning of the war and joined Hemeti’s camp. There are some reports that if the capital of Darfur (El Fasher) falls into the hands of the Rapid Support Forces RSF ,Hemeti may appoint him governor of the region.
Ahmed (Hasabo Abdel Rahman’s son) and Ali Dakhro (an influential Sudanese figure) were part of the Popular Defense Forces battalions that tried to disperse the anti-Bashir protests in 2019.
The former now works in public relations for the Rapid Support Forces RSF while the latter has become a militia commander in Khartoum.
Ibrahim Bakkal, a journalist and former member of the National Congress Party ( NCP) also changed his allegiance between the beginning of the war in mid-April 2023 and August 2023, and now wears the uniform of the Rapid Support Forces RSF.
The report explained that many of Bashir’s supporters switched allegiance and joined Hemeti’s camp for personal or regional reasons, or because of the signing of “Juba Peace Agreement” that pulled the rug out from under some of them.

Violence :

The website indicated that the Juba Agreement was signed in October 2020 by about 10 rebel movements (mostly from Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile) and the transitional government at the time allocated positions to the leaders of these groups. The outcome of that agreement was bad for some of Bashir’s former loyalists in the regions, such as Mohamed Basha Tabiq, a former senior official in the National Congress Party NCP in West Kordofan who joined the Rapid Support Forces RSF at the beginning of the war.
The same applies to the mayor of “Al-Hamj” ethnic group, Obaid Suleiman Abu Shotal, the former leader of the National Congress Party NCP in Blue Nile State, who changed his position when the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces SAF Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chose Malik Agar, the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, who signed the Juba Agreement, to represent Blue Nile State.
In 2021, Abu Shotal was implicated in sectarian violence in Blue Nile, Africa Intelligence reported. He met him and is said to have recruited him during subsequent reconciliation efforts in late 2022. Abu Shotal was last seen as a field commander with the RSF in Omdurman, before the armed forces recaptured it in March. RSF media now suggests he is leading reinforcements in Darfur. This same logic also led to the recruitment of Haroun Madikhir, a former associate of Musa Hilal, Hemedti’s main rival in Darfur under Bashir. Madikhir was imprisoned in 2017 and released after Bashir’s fall. He now commands a RSF battalion on the Khartoum front.