The Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok renewed calls for the integration of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Sudanese army together with the other armed groups.
Last May, RSF General Commander and deputy vice-chairman Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti” of the Sovereign Council rejected the merger of his 50,000 militiamen into the Sudan Armed Forces stressing they are not concerned by the security sector reform.
The Constitutional Declaration governing the transitional period and the Juba Peace Agreement, however, provide the formation of a single army integrating all the armed groups including the RSF.
For the first time, Hamdok on Wednesday paid a visit to the RSF headquarters in Khartoum where he was welcomed by Hemetti and his commanders.
In a speech delivered on this occasion, the Sudanese prime minister said his visit comes “within the framework of supporting the civil and democratic transition and emphasizing the foundations and goals agreed in the Constitutional Document”.
He further recalled his initiative “The National Crisis and Transition Issues: The Way Forward.” Stressing that he underlined that the FFC are of a special nature and have played a positive role in the change that occurred in Sudan in April 2019.
“Also, I stressed that the reform of the security and military sector is a key issue for all transition issues, without it the rest of the issues cannot be resolved, including the building of the civil state and the establishment of a unified national army,” he added.
Hemetti refusal of integrating his force has triggered open rejection for the RSF from the Sudanese youth who continue to call for accountability and justice for the victims of the bloody attack on the pro-democracy sit-in in June 2019.
Last week, Hemetti was in a mosque in the Umbada suburb when a group of your chanting slogans against him and described him as the killer.
The economic activities of the militia leader at the border through his Eljounaid group push some observers to say that he wants to maintain his RSF militiamen under his direct command to protect his companies.
Hemetti several times stressed that his economic group works in a transparent way and pay their taxes.
In his speech, RSF general commander praised the initiative of the Sudanese prime minister to reunite the Forces for Freedom and Change in order to achieve the transition’s goals and programme.
“We must join hands and unify efforts to work together to overcome our partisan, regional and tribal differences. We must also face our mistakes with courage to build the future of the coming generations, and move from fear of each other, to trust in each other.”
Source: Sudan Tribune