Hemeiditi in a defeatist speech: We have no desire to be a SAF alternative

In a surprising appearance after a disappearance that lasted more than three months, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Militia, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemeidti), said that Sudan is at a crossroads after the war continued for more than 21 months.

Hemeidti surprised his supporters and backers by backing down from the idea of transforming the RSF militia into an alternative army to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), by confirming that the militia does not have a desire to be an alternative army to the Sudanese army.

The militia commander called, in a recorded audio speech on Wednesday, to put an end to the war, acknowledging that the Sudanese people are living in poor humanitarian conditions that are getting worse day after day since the war broke out. Hemeidti asked, “With the continuation of the war, what is the future of our country?” He renewed his adherence and commitment to the unity of Sudan and to a democratic civilian rule in the country, as he claimed, calling for getting rid of what he called the old Sudan.

The militia commander called for building Sudan on fair foundations far from ethnicity and regionalism. He claimed that he would only accept a Sudanese state free from racial domination, stressing their desire for true peace. Hemeidti claimed that the conflict in Sudan is not a conflict between western and northern Sudan, but rather a conflict against forces hostile to freedom and democracy, according to him.

Hemeidti acknowledged the involvement of his forces, and those he called the outlaws, in the violations committed against citizens in the areas where his militia is deployed, pledging to resolve them, reiterating his assertion that the outlaws are their enemy, promising to control them and protect citizens and their property, according to what he said in his speech.