The war in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has taken on a dangerous new turn as evidence mounts of the involvement of Islamic extremists fighting alongside the army in against the RSF since mid-April.
Experts believe the jihadist factor in the fighting could help explain why regional and international mediation has so far failed to stop the fighting and could also re-define the nature of the conflict pitting the army led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan against the RSF, Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).
The de facto alliance between radical Islamists and the army undermines the narrative according to which Burhan was leading a regular army defending the authority of the state against a renegade militia backed by mercenaries, analysts say.
In recent days, social media in Sudan were buzzing with reactions to the killing of Muhammad al-Fadl Abd al-Wahed Othman, a prominent leader of the al-Bara bin Malik jihadist battalion operating alongside army troops during battles in the al-Madraat al-Shajara area, against the Rapid Support Forces.
Muhammad al-Fadl is known to have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Sudanese Islamist leaders, such as Ali Karti, Sana Hamad and Amin Hassan Omar, have eulogised the slain jihadist as a “martyr for dignity.”
The commander of the RSF had warned in his first statements after the start of the war that the army had targeted his forces in the capital, Khartoum, with the aim of carrying out “a coup” to restore the regime of former president Omar al-Bashir to power.
There is wide belief in the Sudanese street that Alkaizan, the popular nickname of the Muslim Brotherhood Group, has been plotting its return to power ever since Bashir was removed by the army in April 2019 after mass protests.
Burhan has continuously asserted that his forces were fighting to preserve the unity of the military institution and prevent the disintegration of the state.
Sudanese political analyst Hassan Ishaq said, “The participation of the remnants of the former regime in the conflict was something to be expected in light of their past rule, which lasted about three continuous decades, during which the Alkaizan managed the state.”
He added: “Their presence at the heart of the military institution is difficult to deny.”
He further told The Arab Weekly that “the death of the jihadist Muhammad al-Fadl and others is certain to cause embarrassment to Burhan before regional and international opinion, having vowed that the (dissolved) National Congress Party would not return to the fore after the fall of the Bashir regime.”
Reports of the death of capture of Islamic militants brought to mind the statement by Ali Karti after his escape from Kober prison at the outbreak of the war and his pledge of support to Burhan.
Army attrition
Experts say that most extremists who have been fighting alongside the army, including Muhammad al-Fadl, were not army recruits but armed militants who joined the battle under the banner of the Islamist movement in coordination with the army leadership, in order to promote their own ideologically-driven agenda.
Al-Bara bin Malik Brigade is one of the main militias in the movement.
According to reports, the death toll among members of the Mujahideen Battalion fighting alongside the army has risen to more than twenty in recent weeks.
Al-Bara bin Malik Brigade was mentioned by Islamist leader Anas Omar last April in his threat of war, when he called on the fighters of this battalion to announce their readiness to help abort the framework agreement for transition to civilian rule. He denounced the agreement as part of “external diktats”.
The emerging information about the role of the jihadists seems to show the extent of the Islamist movement’s influence within the army. This influence increased following the escape of former regime figures from Khartoum detention centres after the outbreak of the war.
Civilian forces had warned of the dangers posed by the extremists’ infiltration of the army and state institutions.
According to Sudan analysts, Islamist militants see the battle against the RSF as their last chance to regain influence and they will try to guide the political decisions of the army in the coming weeks.
The Mujahideen Organisation, which includes different shades of Islamic militancy, constitutes the hidden strike force of the army, add the analysts.
The so-called “shadow brigades” have become an effective tool in battles after army personnel attrition.
They coordinate their activities with the army leadership and play an influential role in military and political decisions, seeing the RSF as their most immediate nemesis as they plot their way and that of the rest of Islamist forces back to power.
Clashes broke out in several parts of Sudan’s capital on Wednesday as a 72-hour ceasefire, which saw a number of reports of violations, between rival military factions expired, witnesses said.
Shortly before the truce ended fighting was reported in all three of the cities, Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman, which make up the wider capital around the confluence of the Nile.
Witnesses said army aircraft could be heard early on Wednesday over Omdurman, as could anti-aircraft fire from the RSF, artillery fire from a base in north Omdurman and ground fighting in southern Khartoum.
The ceasefire was the latest of several truce deals brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States at talks in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia and the US said that if the warring factions failed to observe the ceasefire they would consider adjourning the Jeddah talks, which critics have branded as ineffective.
