Militia’s arrival in eastern Sudan raises fears of wider conflict
November 1, 2024 (KASSALA) – The deployment of a new armed militia in eastern Sudan is stoking fears of a broader conflict, with local tribal groups denouncing the move and threatening to escalate tensions.
The group, which calls itself the Eastern Cohort, announced on Oct. 29 that it had deployed forces to Kassala State after undergoing training at an undisclosed location. The militia is affiliated with the Popular Front for Liberation and Justice, led by Amin Daoud, a signatory to the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement.
“The deployment of our forces in eastern Sudan came at the request of all parties in the region,” Humad Shiblalla, assistant commander of the Eastern Cohort, told Sudan Tribune. He added that the move followed consultations with the Sudanese Armed Forces and that the militia’s forces were now integrated into the army.
Shiblalla said the deployment of thousands of troops was aimed at “protecting the land and honour” and that the soldiers had received intensive military training. He dismissed those opposing their presence as “paid voices driven by a foreign agenda.”
However, the deployment has been met with fierce resistance from the Beja people, the dominant ethnic group in eastern Sudan.
“The deployment of the Eastern Cohort forces in our lands is a declaration of war between the Beja and the remnants of what I describe as the Eritrean opposition,” Sayed Ali Abu Amina, political secretary of the High Council of Beja Nazirs and Independent Columns, told Sudan Tribune. He vowed to confront the militia and prevent it from establishing a military presence in the region.
Abu Amina warned of a looming security crisis in eastern Sudan, citing tensions between the Beja and a group he described as “naturalized,” which he accused of being allied with the Eastern Cohort. He claimed the militia had received training in Eritrea and was operating under the command of Minni Arko Minawi, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement.
Abu Amina considers the Eastern Cohort a “foreign force” with leaders drawn from the Eritrean opposition, alleging they were integrated into Beja lands during the former regime of Omer Hassan al-Bashir and granted citizenship illegally.
He also accused Daoud of being wanted for murder and inciting strife in the Beja lands. “Now that he has been armed and mobilized in Eritrea and sent to Beja land under the cover of the joint forces, this will blow up the situation and strike the east,” Abu Amina said.
This development comes amid reports that the Sudanese army plans to deploy thousands of fighters from eastern Sudan to replace Darfuri armed movements currently securing vital sites in Port Sudan, where most government institutions have been relocated because of the ongoing conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.