Darfur society critical of officials praising Rapid Support Forces

Darfur civil society organisations have sharply criticised Sudanese officials and ministers for praising the efforts of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in fighting rebels. In a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday a coalition of 12 Darfuri civil society organisations launched a scathing attack on Sudanese government members for praising the RSF. “The SRF militias, under the command of the National Intelligence and Security Services, seemingly have been commended for the burning of hundreds of villages in South and North Darfur since February this year; for killing, wounding, raping, and looting the property of innocent civilians, and causing the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Darfuri people,” they stated during the press conference. The civil society coalition demanded an immediate withdrawal of the “Rapid Support militias” from the region. The acting head of the Popular Organisation for Development in Darfur, Mohamed Eisa Aliyu accused government officials of being involved in igniting and continuing the war in Darfur for “their own material gains”. He also accused the National Congress Party of “taking the position of the Second Vice President as hostage”. “If the Sudanese government is serious about a broad national dialogue, as proposed by President Al Bashir in January this year, it should declare a cease-fire on its part. It should also give sufficient guarantees to the armed movements to freely engage in the dialogue, including international monitoring.” El Amin Mahmoud, secretary-general of Darfur Peace, demanded the participation of Darfuri civil society organisations in the national dialogue. “Darfur should be part and parcel of any future solution.” Security apparatus Radio Dabanga reported in December last year that Border Guards Commander, Mohamed Hamdan, better known as Hemeti, had began to recruit large numbers of young Darfuris in September and October. The about 6,000 recruits were to be trained as paramilitary troops in camps near Khartoum, in order to fight along with the Sudanese army in South Kordofan. Large numbers of these militiamen were stationed in the area near El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan from the end of 2013 onwards. After fierce protests of the population against their widespread assaults, they were expelled from North Kordofan mid February. The Governor of North Kordofan State, Ahmed Haroun, explained in a statement at the time that those militias are called Rapid Support Forces, being regular troops belonging to the operations body of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). The RSF are commanded by Major General Abbas Abdel Aziz, who stated that his troops’ movements and deployment in military operations are arranged in coordination with the General Command of the Sudanese army. “They are in Darfur to fight the armed opposition movements.” File photo: A house on fire in a village located southeast of Nyala, March 2014 (Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre) Related:More than 224,000 new displaced in Darfur yet to return (24 April 2014) Darfur conflicts displace 100,000 in one week (12 March 2014) ‘Rapid Support Forces in Darfur to fight rebels’: General (26 February 2014) $3 million for withdrawal of North Kordofan’s Janjaweed (14 February 2014) Janjaweed ‘causing chaos’ in North Kordofan capital (7 February 2014)