El Burhan freezes RSF bank accounts amidst ongoing clashes in Sudan

Khartoum – May 15, 2023

Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan issued a number of decrees yesterday, for the first time since the outbreak of the war. One decree officially freezes the bank accounts of the SAF’s enemy in the current clashes, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). El Burhan sacked his acting interior affairs minister, who was also director general of the Sudanese police, and appointed a new police chief.

Sudan has witnessed unrest and fierce battles since the outbreak of an armed conflict between the army and the RSF in mid-April. Little official decisions have been made since.

A statement by El Burhan’s office said that the first decree freezes “the bank accounts of the Rapid Support Forces and its subsidiaries in all banks in Sudan and their branches abroad”.

The decision seeks to “prevent the disbursement of any entitlements or budgets allocated to it”.

El Burhan directed the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Bank of Sudan to implement the decision.

He also replaced the governor of the Central Bank of Sudan, Hussein Jangoul, with Bur’i El Siddig (one of Jangoul’s deputies).

The SAF commander further issued a decree to refer four army officers to retirement: Maj Osman Hamid, Maj Hasan Mahjoub, Brig Abashar, and Brig Omar Hamdan.

The RSF seem to not have issued any official response to the new decrees so far. It has, however, publically condemned recent attacks on mosques and churches.

No communication

According to sources within the military, there has been no communication with Acting Minister of Interior Affairs and Police Chief Gen Anan Hamed and Minister of Defence Gen Yasin Ibrahim since the outbreak of the war. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali El Sadig has also remained unavailable for any communication.

According to the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), El Burhan sacked his acting interior affairs minister, who is also director general of the Sudanese police, and appointed Khalid Hasan Muhyidin as his new police chief.

The executive branch of the government has completely stopped carrying out its duties since the outbreak of the war, the Sudanese Alrakoba online news outlet reported this morning.

The interior and foreign affairs ministers have disappeared and their telephones remain off. Their whereabouts and conditions are unknown.

The military sources reported that ‘executive committees’ have been formed to manage the crisis.