Sudan Foreign Ministry rejects US ‘equating between army and RSF’

In response to US State Secretary Anthony Blinken accusing both the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing war crimes, each of the two warring parties welcomed the US’ acknowledgment of the other side’s human rights violations, while vehemently disputing the accusations directed at them.

On Wednesday evening, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a statement directly condemning both parties: “I have determined that members of the SAF and the RSF have committed war crimes in Sudan. I have also determined that members of the RSF and allied militias have committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.”

Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lauded his conclusion that the RSF is guilty of war crimesin a statement issued yesterday. The Ministry expressed surprise however, at the accusations directed towards the SAF, arguing they have “no basis in truth.”The FA Ministry  vehemently rejected “generalised allegations that the SAF and the rebel militia [RSF] are both responsible for unleashing horrific violence, death, and destruction, and detaining civilians”.

It argued that such practices are “exclusively carried out by the rebel militia” andberated Blinken for “ignoring the duty and right of the SAF, the legitimate national army, to defend the country and its people and protect their quarters in the face of barbaric aggression by a militia consisting of mercenaries targeting all the elements of life, sovereignty, and civilisation in the country.”

According to the ministry, Blinken’s statement also did not refer to countries that “continue to supply the rebel militia with weapons and mercenaries, and have close relations with the United States, which makes these countries partners and responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing committed by the rebel militia, despite irrefutable and documented testimonies about the role of these countries”, the Ministry argued, and urged the US government to take a clear position on these countries.

On November 29, Lt Gen Yasir El Atta, member of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), unleashed harsh criticism against “mafia state” United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries he accused of supporting the RSF.

The Sudanese government repeated its readiness to engage with its American counterpart to “clarify the facts of what is happening in the country and the means to end the crisis”.

RSF rejects accusations

Basha Tabig, media advisor to the RSF commander, dismissed the accusations of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity made by the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken as “false”.  Speaking to Dabanga Sudan, he accused the US State Department of “employing double standards”.

“We know very well that there are elements belonging to the former regime and the Islamic movement who recruited Masalit people and activists to present memos that contain a lot of fabrication,” Tabig stated. ”The US State Department based these accusations on reports from these activists supported by radical Islamist groups in Sudan.”

The RSF media advisor denied any responsibility for the repeated violent attacks in West Darfur since end April including the brutal killing of Governor Khamees Abakar, and calling the attacks “entirely tribally-driven”.

Escalation

Military strategist El Rashid Ibrahim predicts that the SAF and the Sudanese government will further respond to the US State Department’s accusations “through a combination of military and diplomatic methods”.

He told Dabanga Sudan yesterday that “the Sudanese government views the situation on the ground as a rebellion and will continue to address it militarily”, he said.“There will likely be no inclination for negotiation or reconciliation with what the government describes as mercenaries.”

According to journalist and political analyst Shawgi Abdelazim, the accusations by the US State Department will definitely  impact the warring parties and their allies, “especially those with Islamist affiliations”.

“The indictment of the SAF for war crimes places it in a difficult position with the Sudanese public, Abdelazim argues, “considering the prevailing narrative that only the RSF commits violations.The accusations will strengthen public sentiment calling for an end to the war.”

Abdelazim added that the US sanctions on Islamist leaders Salah Abdallah (better known as Salah Gosh), Taha El Hussein and Mohamed Atta El Moula, enforced a few days before Blinken’s statement, “confirmed that this war is being run by Islamists”,

In response to the recent escalation of military operations, the analyst noted that the developments in Jeddah significantly influenced the situation on the ground, “especially with the failure of negotiations that many hoped would halt the war.

“The army’s intransigence and rejection of peaceful solutions is a way to prove its capability and determination to its supporters,” he continued. “With diminished effectiveness in Darfur,” the army is now intensifying its efforts in Khartoum, aiming to reclaim areas and compel the RSF to leave the capital.”