SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Wall Street Journal – Brutal Sudanese Militia Leader Plays a Bigger Role in War-Torn Nation
Julia Steers feature piece links Himedti’s emergence as a “major player” in Sudan, to the growing profile of his Rapid Support Forces.
Political analyst Dalia Haj-Omar is quoted saying that Himedti is “the biggest power in town… he’s become too powerful. Even the military council has no choice but to accommodate him.”
Haj-Omar added that: “the military council and [the RSF] are seen all as one, and [various western diplomats in Khartoum] were too fast to go and shake hands with Hemedti..they have enabled Hemedti to the extent that he can enact [the June 3] massacre.”
Other factors cited for growing RSF power is their support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who seek “to back dependable non-Islamist strongmen when the possibility of democratic change looms.”
Amnesty International researcher Ahmed Elozbier said that the “RSF is not trained to do policing activities… it’s a philosophy of shoot to kill.”