SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: AP - Sudanese general's path to power ran through Darfur

20/5/19: AP – Sudanese general’s path to power ran through Darfur, by Samy Magdy and Joseph Krauss

 AP chart Himedti’s “meteoric rise” to deputy head of the Sudanese transitional military council, and highlight his perception among Sudanese protesters.

 Magdi el-Gizouli, a scholar at the Rift Valley Institute, links Hemedti’s rise to the military’s outsourcing of the Darfur  conflict to local forces, arguing that “[Himedti] is the reason why the rebellion in Darfur was defeated, because he was capable of recruiting an efficient fighting force that knew the local terrain well.”

 AP state that, despite protests against the military, “there have not been widespread calls for Hemedti to step down,” with El-Gizouli saying that “many people, including some of Sudan’s finest democrats, consider him a counterweight to the Islamic movement.”

 Shamayel el-Nour, an activist with the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the demonstrations said that “the protesters recognize his refusal to use force against them, but in Darfur he is viewed as a war criminal.”