Sudan urges world to designate paramilitary Rapid Support Forces as terror group

By Tufan Aktas and Ahmed Satti

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Sudan urged the international community to designate the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a "terror group", accusing it of committing crimes against the state, citizens, and diplomatic missions in the country.

In a written statement, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry called on "the international community and IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) to condemn the rebel group for the ongoing violations and crimes against the state, citizens and diplomatic missions in the country and designate it as a terrorist organization."

The ministry also called for the implementation of legal and judicial accountability measures in a timely manner.

It stressed that the "rebel group" disregarded international law and continued its irresponsible behavior by violating the IGAD-proposed truce which took effect Thursday morning.

Stressing that the Sudanese army is committed to the cease-fire on humanitarian grounds, it said rebel Rapid Support Forces Thursday morning launched a sudden attack on several locations, including the military area in Bahri.

The attacks by the paramilitary group were repelled, inflicting heavy losses on the group.

The ministry also accused the RSF of looting and pillaging the premises of diplomatic missions and international organizations and using hospitals and health centers as military headquarters.

Earlier in the day, the ministry strongly condemned "the recent assault on the Indian Embassy in Khartoum, Korean Embassy, Saudi Cultural Office, the residence of Swiss diplomats, and the consular division of the Turkish Embassy."

It said the paramilitary group also expelled Sudanese people from their homes and used them as human shields.

The Sudanese capital, Khartoum, has been engulfed by violence for weeks with fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and RSF regarding the group’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, is scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.