Constant state of alert spells trouble for Sudanese military

November 1, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Ever since last year’s military coup, the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) remained in a state of alert of varying degrees, which raised concerns about the long-term impact of this situation.

As many observers have pointed out, it is believed that the shifting in the SAF role from being a military body to a quasi-political body degraded its ability to confront growing security challenges.

War economy:
Military and strategic studies generally agree that this state of preparedness among uniformed forces is very costly given the multiple layers and units involved.

Al Jazeera Research Center supports this theory by analyzing the impact of the military on the economy, its influence on decision-making, ballooning military spending, army deployment on the streets and the proliferation of weapons in society.

Global Firepower index has ranked SAF in ninth place out of 36 African armies. It also ranks 73 out of 142 globally.

US sanctions:
In response to the killings of street protestors demanding civilian rule by the junta since the coup, the US Treasury imposed sanctions – mainly asset freezes – on the Central Police. The latter has played a major role in confronting these demonstrations.

The RSF factor:
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemetti) who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council operate almost independently, but they are nonetheless part of the “joint forces”, which include intelligence and police units.

The RSF has gained infamy for their alleged role in the bloody crackdown of the military headquarters sit-in back in June 2019 which spurred wide condemnation and anger.

‘Exhausted’ police:
The units that are most affected by this heightened level of alert are the police, including the anti-riot division.

Two police officers acknowledged to {Sudan Tribune} that their forces have reached a point of exhaustion due to the continuous confrontations with the demonstrators and around-the-clock presence on the streets.

Administrative, functional and logistical impact:
Retired Major General Amin Ismail Majzoub, an expert in crisis management, estimated that the year-long alertness state impacted administrative, functional, and logistical aspects by up to 40%.

Amin told {Sudan Tribune} that security forces have taken on larger responsibilities since the coup which brought on negative implications including cessation of training because they are stretched thin and are having to deal with multiple security issues whether political or tribal conflicts or organized crime.

The police have long asserted that they use the minimum amount of force when dealing with demonstrators. But the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors and civil society organizations insist that excessive force is used by the security forces in the face of peaceful demonstrators. It is estimated that 119 demonstrators were killed since the coup, with thousands of others either seriously injured or permanently disabled.

Functional effects:
Amin went on to say that police are also pulled away from adjudicating complaints filed by citizens related to civil or criminal matters because most of the force is required to be present in the street to deal with demonstrators.

“The armed forces are also carrying out functions of securing vital areas and government buildings. We also saw army forces head to al-Fashaga [border region] and to areas of tribal conflict. This has an impact on discharging mandate because it makes them always in a tense state”.

Compensation & Perks:
Sudan Tribune has obtained non-public information which shows that policemen receive between 3,000 and 5,000 Sudanese pounds monthly while in a state of readiness along with other perks such as transportation allowances, medical insurance, access to military and private hospitals as well as other forms of monetary and material compensation.

Police officers receive even larger compensation packages, but details remain classified. However, it is believed that this also depends on which part of the security forces they serve in and their ranks.

Permanent stations:
People passing by military headquarters in Khartoum have observed hundreds of army soldiers stationed on the roofs of the Medical City building, which is located on the opposite side.

Those army soldiers have been in a state of readiness for an extended amount of time and one of them explained to {Sudan Tribune} that they are rotated almost monthly and that they participate in security patrols and securing strategic government buildings and bridges.

The soldier vehemently rejected allegations of killing protestors and when confronted with video evidence showing otherwise, he refused to continue talking.

(ST)