Agar: Sudan War Is “Regional” … “I’m Not a Devil to Know How Islamists Think”

Sudan’s Vice-President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC), Malik Agar, said the ongoing war in the country has turned into a regional conflict, pointing to the involvement of countries such as Chad and Ethiopia in supporting military operations against the military institution.

In an interview published by Egypt’s Al-Shorouq newspaper, Agar warned of regional plans seeking to divide Darfur along the lines of the scenario that led to South Sudan’s secession. At the same time, he said that military developments were in favor of the Sudanese Armed Forces, which he said were moving toward decisive action and establishing a new reality on the ground.

Responding to a question from the newspaper about whether Sudan’s “Islamists” could engage with the idea of the anticipated national dialogue, the TSC Vice-President gave a startling response, saying: “I am not an Islamist, and I don’t know how the devil thinks, because I am not a devil.”

Agar’s controversial remarks did not stop there. Asked about the dialogue committee’s ability to communicate with “Sumoud,” the alliance led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Agar used another striking analogy, reflecting the state’s desire to exhaust all political avenues, saying: “The committee’s task is to communicate even with the devil and bring forward proposals for consideration.”

Agar stressed that any political settlement or sitting at the negotiating table first requires changing the balance of power on the ground and creating a genuine environment conducive to building trust and restructuring the Sudanese state on the basis of sound political pluralism.