The Rise of Sudan’s RSF and Their Leader “Hemedti”
The Rise of Sudan’s RSF and Their Leader “Hemedti”
Podcast / Africa 1 minutes

The Rise of Sudan’s RSF and Their Leader “Hemedti”

This week on The Horn, Alan is joined by Jerome Tubiana, a researcher, journalist and Crisis Group’s former senior Sudan analyst, to take a closer look at the origins of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and what’s behind their rivalry with the Sudanese armed forces.

The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has continued for almost a month as a string of ceasefires keep breaking down. This week, representatives of Sudan's warring factions are meeting in Jeddah for Saudi-U.S.-brokered talks aimed at ending the conflict that has collapsed Sudan’s capital Khartoum, left hundreds dead, and triggered a huge humanitarian crisis and a mass exodus.

This week on The Horn, Alan speaks with Jerome Tubiana, Crisis Group’s former senior Sudan analyst, to unpack the roots of the conflict, the rise of the RSF and their leader Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Dagalo, and their rivalry with Sudan’s armed forces. They take a closer look at the development of the RSF under former President Omar al-Bashir, and how they and Hemedti became a powerful force in Sudanese politics. They also talk about the ongoing conflict, who is supporting the armed forces and the RSF, and if the fighting could spread further in Sudan and beyond its borders. Finally, they discuss where the conflict might be headed, what a resolution could look like,  and what that might mean for the future of the RSF and Sudan.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

For more in-depth analysis on the situation in Sudan, check out Crisis Group's latest statement Stopping Sudan’s Descent into Full-Blown Civil War, our Sudan country page and Jerome’s article in The Baffler Land of Thirst.

Contributors

Project Director, Horn of Africa
alanboswell
Former Senior Analyst, Sudan

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