Sudan’s SRF militia tightens border control to prevent arms smuggling

December 20, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The government militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said its fighters are tightening control over border crossings to prevent arms smuggling and “negative phenomena” and secure the borders.

On Wednesday, SRF second-in-command Isam al-Din Salih visited the town of Tina on the Sudanese-Chad border to inspect the force tasked with carrying out the disarmament campaign.

According to Ashorooq TV, Salih said the force managed to capture large quantities of illicit weapons and unregulated vehicles within the framework of the disarmament campaign.

For his part, the commander of the force Hamdan Abu Shouk said their activities have covered large areas across the various counties in North and West Darfur States which resulted in capturing a number of outlaws as well as large quantities of illegal arms and vehicles.

Last August, the Sudanese authorities launched a six-month disarmament campaign to eliminate illegal weapons in the conflict-affected areas in Sudan, particularly in Darfur region.

The higher committee for the collection of weapons and unregulated vehicles started the forcible phase of the campaign in all the states of Sudan on 15 October.

Also, since June 2016, hundreds of RSF elements have been deployed in the remote desert of the Northern State shortly after a complaint by the governor of drug and human trafficking by the criminal networks.

Last January, RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, (aka Hametti) said they intercepted the smuggling of 1500 illegal migrants on the Sudanese-Libyan border since their fighters were deployed to the desert area.

The RSF militia, which is widely known as the Janjaweed militias, were originally mobilised by the Sudanese government to quell the insurgency that broke out in Sudan’s western region of Darfur in 2003.

The militia was activated and restructured again in August 2013 under the command of the National Security Services to fight rebel groups in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states following joint attacks by Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels in North and South Kordofan in April 2013.

Earlier this year, the Sudanese parliament passed RSF Act which integrates the notorious militia in the Sudanese army and provides that its commander is appointed by the President of the Republic.

(ST)