Sudan arrests retired military who formed armed group

November 14, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese authorities arrested several retired militaries including the former army spokesman Khalid Saad Alsawarmi, hours after the formation of an armed group, the Patriotic Entity Forces (PEF).

On November 13, a group of retired army officers in Sudan announced the establishment of an armed movement. The PEF aim to protect the interests of the people of central and northern Sudan, they said before calling to cancel the Juba peace agreement, which brought Darfur former rebels to power in Khartoum.

Hours after a press conference they held to announce the establishment of the armed group in Khartoum, the Sudanese army arrested Alswarmi and other leaders of the Patriotic Forces on Sunday evening.

“The military intelligence arrested the commander-in-chief of the Patriotic Entity Forces, Khalid Saad Alswarmi, and the group leader, Mohamed Rahma. The authorities are hunting several other members of the armed organization,” a military source told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

“Their declaration of an armed group from inside Khartoum is an explicit call for rebellion against the state and poses a direct threat to the national security,” he added.

Several sources said that most of the leaders of the armed groups are affiliated with the Islamist movement.

They held their press conference on the same day where the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese army and head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan warned the Islamists for the second time against seeking to use the army to take power.

The PEF issued a statement on Monday condemning the arrest of its leaders and called for their immediate release.

“If they are not released, we will take the necessary means to preserve the prestige and dignity of the entity gathering the patriotic forces,” warned the statement.

(ST)