PORT SUDAN, Sudan
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, issued two decisions on Wednesday, formally dissolving the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and abolishing the RSF Law of 2017.
Already on two days after the
outbreak of the conflict on April 17, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced
al-Burhan’s decision to dissolve the RSF and categorize it as a rebel force.
Also, the military-led government took further measures, including suspending
the salaries of its troops.
However, on Wednesday, the
Sovereignty Council issued two separate statements stating that Al-Burhan
issued two constitutional decrees that officially dismantled the paramilitary
forces and revoked the controversial RSF Law.
The decrees instructed the
General Command of the Armed Forces, the General Secretariat of the Sovereign
Council, and other relevant bodies to implement the decisions.
The Sovereign Council accused
the RSF of rebelling against the state, committing severe human rights
violations against civilians, and deliberately damaging the country’s
infrastructure. It emphasized that these actions violated the objectives and
principles outlined in the 2017 RSF Law.
These decisions coincide with
individual sanctions imposed by the U.S. administration against the RSF’s
second-in-command, in response to the human rights violations and crimes
committed by the forces against civilians since the onset of the conflict.
The RSF has long maintained
its legitimacy based on a 2017 law enacted by the parliament loyal to ousted
President Omar al-Bashir. This law dictated that the RSF’s role was to support
the Sudanese army and subject it to the Armed Forces Law but to be under the
direct command of the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the
army.
In July 2019, following the
fall of the Bashir regime, the Transitional Military Council, headed by Abdel
Fattah al-Burhan, made substantial amendments to the law. These changes removed
Article 5, which classified the RSF as governed by the Armed Forces Law,
effectively making it an independent force separate from the army.
In response to these
decisions, the RSF asserted that Abdel Fattah al-Burhan lacked the
constitutional and legal legitimacy to disband the force. In statements to
Sudan Tribune, A senior RSF official contended that it was al-Burhan who had
breached the law and was now exercising authority beyond his jurisdiction.
The RSF forces fight against
the Sudanese army in Khartoum and various states in the Darfur and Kordofan
regions.
Sudan Tribune obtained a
confidential circular from the Bank of Sudan dated September 6, instructing the
seizure of funds and assets belonging to 22 companies affiliated with the RSF.
This follows al-Burhan’s earlier decision on May 14 to freeze the RSF’s banking
accounts across the country and their branches abroad.
On May 19, al-Burhan removed
RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Hemedti from the position of Vice Chairman
of the Sovereign Council, appointing Malik Agar, head of the SPLM-N, as his
replacement.
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