RSF head Hemedti’s verbal salvo targets parties in Sudan and abroad

The commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lt Gen Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, has lashed out at diverse parties within Sudan and abroad, in a 40-minute verbal offensive posted on X (formerly Twitter). The video rant places particular focus on Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, president of the Sovereign Council and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), whom he accuses of being “held hostage by the Islamist movement”, and on Sudan’s Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, accusing him of “stealing the country’s money”. Several of Hemedti’s ‘targets’ have responded, with Ibrahim belittling Hemedti’s “sad speech” as a “declaration of defeat”.

In his 40-minute video message posted on X yesterday, Hemedti lashed out in several directions. On the home front, he railed against SAF Commander El Burhan and other army commanders, including Lt General Ibrahim Jaber, Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, whom he described as a ‘thief’, the governor of Darfur, Minni Minawi, who he accuses of bribery, and Ali Karti, head of the Islamic Movement in Sudan. In addition, Hemedti’s tirade targeted Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the USA.

Hemedti said he repeatedly warned the USA, Saudi Arabia, and the UN that the 2022 Framework Agreement would drag the country into war.

The RSF leader questioned why warplanes do not target eastern Sudan as it targets all other regions of Sudan. He explicitly accused Egypt of intervening in the conflict and fighting with its aeroplanes on the side of the Sudanese army using US explosives, and said Egyptian aircraft had betrayed its forces in Jebel Moya in Sennar.

A focused attack pointed to the return of Islamist figures to the country. Hemedti accused El Burhan of being “held hostage by the Islamist movement led by Ali Karti and Osama Abdallah,” and blamed him for the outbreak of the war, the October 2021 military coup, and the dispersal of the June 3 sit-in in 2019, as well as committing other crimes, and accused him of trying to “burn” Lt Gen Shamseldin Kabashi.

While Hemedti said he is not surprised by the participation of Jibril Ibrahim with his rebel forces alongside the SAF as part of the Islamic movement, he denounced Minawi’s participation, accusing him of “receiving money to play this role “and said that he put his family in danger by taking that position because he violated the agreement he made with Abdelrahim Dagalo in front of the Chadian president not to attack El Fasher, but “he betrayed the RSF and now represents the role of the victim…”

He also accused Jibril Ibrahim of “stealing the country’s money”.

Hemedti vowed “to equip a million soldiers”, praised the valour of his soldiers, and denied charges of plundering and theft. He urged his forces to treat prisoners well, not to film military operations, and to stop celebrating victory by firing shots into the air, saying that ammunition must be preserved.

He denied his forces had links to Russia and said the SAF was getting Russian and Iranian support with weapons and drones.

Response

Head of a Justice and Equality Movement faction and Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim responded to Hemedti by saying: “The militia commander, may not know that with his sad speech today, he practically mourned – knowingly or unknowingly – his adventure to rule Sudan, declared the defeat of his scoundrels, and disavowed their heinous crimes that made him lose everything”.

In a statement today, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry denied the accusations of the commander of the RSF “militia”, saying he is not participating in the war. It added that Hemedti’s accusations come at a time when Egypt is working with others to stop the conflict in Sudan and deliver relief.

In a separate response, former Foreign Affairs Minister and Islamist leader Ibrahim Ghandour states that he wishes the return of all the leadership of the National Congress Party (set up by dictator Omar Al Bashir in 1998 and dissolved in end 2019) “to reach an agreement with others to bring the country to safety.”