SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Hemeti visits Eritrea to discuss bilateral relations but also to ‘weave RSF alliances’

14/3/2023: Radio Dabanga - Hemeti visits Eritrea to discuss bilateral relations but also to ‘weave RSF alliances’

Radio Dabanga report that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia commander Himedti travelled to Eritrea for an unannounced one-day visit linked.

Journalist and political analyst Abdelmonim Abu Idris told Radio Dabanga: “The RSF has regional and international relations separately from the Sudanese government. The visit is therefore also part of the RSF weaving alliances of its own with countries in the region and international powers.”

RSF leader Himedti has close ties with Russia, which is “heavily involved” Sudan’s gold trade “which has been largely in the RSF’s hands”.

The visit was therefore also placed in the context of the RSF pursuing its own political agenda, separately from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) headed by Abdulfattah al-Burhan. According to political analyst Waleed El Nour, the conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF is not a conflict between military institutions*, but a struggle over power and political influence.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Al-Rakoba – Musa Hilal and Dagallo: The margins and the center

14/3/2021: Al-Rakoba – Musa Hilal and Dagallo: The margins and the center, by Yousif al-Sondy

Yousif al-Sondy argues that the release of Darfuri militia leader Musa Hilal with the assistance of Rapid Support Forces commander Himedti, and Hilal’s recent meetings with rebel leaders Minni Minnawi and Yasser Arman, reflects a “new reality” in which leaders from Sudan’s marginalised peripheries have their “greatest chance for leadership” and to play a critical role in “the historical transformation of Sudan”. 

Al-Sondy suggests that the centre (Khartoum, Dongola, Madani and Kosti) that has historically dominated Sudan is no longer in a better condition than the peripheries due to “long-term wars” triggered by the centre’s underdevelopment of the peripheries.

Thus, al-Sondy concludes, the present situation is a delicate balance that may either culminate in the beginning of a unified new Sudan, or alternatively, “the fragmentation of Sudan into many states”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Foreign Policy - The United States Must Not Pick Sides in the Nile River Dispute

14/3/2020: Foreign Policy - The United States Must Not Pick Sides in the Nile River Dispute, by Addisu Lashitew

 Addisu Lashitew, a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, calls for Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to join forces and build a lasting agreement that will advance their shared water interests.

 With Sudan lacking a major dam on the Nile, it is taking the side of Ethiopia “for the first time in Nile politics,” as Sudan stands to enjoy the benefits of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at the expense of Egyptian water supply and electricity generation.

 To reduce “bickering”, “outside support for national agendas,” and mitigate climate change vulnerabilities such as erratic rainfall, Lashitew calls for a Nile agreement that is part of a cooperative framework for greater regional and economic integration.

 Lashitew suggests that trade and investment incentives and the joint development of dams can strengthen trust, and optimise and coordinate water usage. Lashitew also suggests that economic integration would mitigate against potential hostilities if severe water shortages arise.