Darfur governor accuses Sudan officials of abandoning region in war with RSF
August 1, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – The governor of Sudan’s Darfur region on Friday accused government officials of abandoning the war-torn western territory after pushing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) out of the country’s centre.
Minni Arko Minawi, who also leads the armed Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), stated that some officials in Port Sudan believe that liberating the capital, Khartoum, and the central Gezira state is “enough” to win the war.
“There is a senior Sudanese official who believes that the war outside of Khartoum is unimportant,” Minawi said in a speech to tribal leaders.
His comments follow military campaigns from November to March, where the army and its allies, including Minawi’s forces, drove the RSF from Gezira, Khartoum, and other central areas. The RSF subsequently regrouped in its western strongholds, specifically in Darfur and Kordofan.
While Minawi’s forces participated in the battles for central Sudan. They continue to defend the regional capital, El Fasher in North Darfur, which has remained under a grinding siege by the RSF since May 2024. A large number of the Joint Force remain deployed in the country’s centre and have not returned to defend the region.
Minawi warned of what he called international plans to divide Sudan, stating that an ambassador from a “major power,” which he did not name, had asked him early in the war about forming three separate governments in the country.
His warning comes a week after the RSF and its allies announced the formation of a rival “Tasis” (Founding) government based in South Darfur, a move Minawi framed as part of a plan to split the country.
“Sudan cannot be divided in the way the Rapid Support Forces want,” he said, calling for unity among all parties who oppose the RSF’s project.