Tensions have been brewing for weeks between Sudan's two most powerful generals, who just 18 months earlier jointly orchestrated a military coup to derail the nation's transition to democracy.
Over the weekend, those tensions between the armed forces chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted into an unprecedented battle for control of the resource-rich nation of more than 46 million people.
Under mounting international and regional pressure, the armed forces and the RSF signed a preliminary deal in December with pro-democracy and civilian groups. But the internationally brokered agreement provided only broad outlines, leaving the thorniest political issues unsettled. Analysts argued that Dagalo is trying to whitewash the reputation of his paramilitary force, which began as brutal militias implicated in atrocities in the Darfur conflict.On Wednesday, the RSF began deploying forces around the small town Merowe north of the capital. The town is strategic, with its large airport, central location and downstream electric dam on the Nile River.
The Muslim religious calendar might also play a role. The fighting erupted during the last week of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, with the three-day holiday of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the fasting month later this week. The population is increasingly strained for necessities, many homebound by the violence.
“Without such pressure, we could find a conflict with the same pattern of the war in Tigray ,” he said.During the decades-long rule of strongman Omar al-Bashir, who was deposed in 2019, Russia was a dominant force. At one point, Moscow reached an initial deal to build a naval base on Sudan's Red Sea cost.
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