26/3/2023: Ayin Network - Darfur’s recruitment race: Sudan’s army and Rapid Support Forces compete for influence

Ayin Network report that the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have activated large-scale military recruitment operations in Darfur, “in what appears an open race to recruit certain tribal groups into their ranks.”

The campaign “exclusively targets Arab nomadic communities”, with Ayin’s civil and military sources saying that the army seeks to weaken the RSF by recruiting youth from its core ethnic base of Arab tribes such as the Riziegat and Al-Ta’aisha.

Ayin’s sources also allege that the army has revived the Border Guards, a paramilitary force consisting of Darfur-based Arab tribal militias originally set up under former president Omar al-Bashir in 2003 but disbanded in 2017.

The army and RSF’s recruitment drive in Darfur has also disincentivised other armed groups from disarmament, including the Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi, a Juba peace agreement signatory.