New armed groups emerge in central Sudan
December 18, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Two armed groups in central and eastern Sudan have been established several days ago announcing their saying they want to defend the rights of their regions.
Last November, a former spokesman of the Sudanese army retired Col Khalid Alswarmi announced the establishment of an armed group ‘the Patriotic Entity Forces’ to defend the rights of the people in eastern great central Sudan including the White Nile and Kordofan.
He and his associates had been detained and released a week after.
On December 17, another retired Lt Col Abu Aqelah Mohamed Kikal launched the “Sudan Shield Forces” in the Butana region of central Sudan.
The newly formed armed group says they have no political affiliation to any political party of tribal organization. They claim they have established sections in Kordofan, While Nile, Sennar Gederaf, Kassala, Red Sea and Khartoum states.
The group, like the Patriotic Entity, says they are not a rebel group against the government army but they want to protect their areas and regions.
On the day after on December 18, the Political Secretary of the Supreme Council of Beja Chiefdoms Sayed Ali Abu Amnah, a group opposed to the Hadandawa tribal leader, Mohamed Terk, stated that they are establishing a military force to protect their areas and resources.
The three groups voice their rejection of the Juba Peace Agreement, which they describe as a “political elevator that allowed a small tribal group to control the resource of the country and rule Sudan”.
The emergence of these three groups occurs as the political forces signatory of the political framework agreement and the military component are preparing to engage in talks on five issues including the review of the Juba agreement
On the other hand, two signatory groups reject the framework agreement and call to maintain the 2019 constitutional declaration saying it protects the achievements of the deal.
Struck in October 2020, the deal remains totally unimplemented. Only the power-sharing chapter has been implemented.
In a statement released 24 hours before the launch of the Shield, the Free Butana Platform, a civil society group warned of the ongoing recruitment and militarization of Sudan’s central region, by a group calling itself the “Sudan Shield Forces.”
The official spokesman for the Free Butana Forum, Youssif Amara Abusen, voiced their rejection of “the militarization of the region”, warning of serious consequences by introducing violence into safe areas.
For his part, the Rapporteur of the Beja Supreme Council Abdallah Obshar said the October 25 coup prevented the signing of an agreement with the ousted civilian government including the cancellation of the eastern Sudan protocol which is part of the Juba Peace Agreement.
(ST)